Song of the Nightingale
by Radagast the choco Brownie
Summary: A recently reformed Penguin unexpectedly saves a young woman from a bunch of thugs in an alleyway and soon they become close friends but after a terrible incident which affects her entire life she isn't the only one seeking revenge. Penguin/OC
1. Chapter 1: Reformed once again

Chapter 1: Reformed once again

Authors note: This is my first Batman story so don't be too harsh about it please. This first chapter is kinda similar to the beginning of the episode 'Birds of a feather' but it changes as soon as the second chapter begins. I wrote this story because I felt poor Ozzy gets no love. Joker has Harley and the other villains get paired up but no one loves Penguin. My character Abigail Nighting will be introduced in the next chapter and more will be revealed about what will happen later on. Meanwhile poor Ozzy can't go a day out of prison without something going wrong. Enjoy!

"So, today's the big day uh Penguin?" The prison guard chirped amusingly as he carried several items in his arms. He approached the prison cell and entered it, there he found his once prisoner the Penguin sitting there patiently awaiting his belongings to be returned to him. Penguin smiled as the guard entered and handed him his clothes and other personal belongings. It would be a great change to finally be rid of his tatty old blue prison uniform and get into something more formal for a change.

"Indeed it is my good fellow," the Penguin replied with much pride in his voice "and what a day it is too if I might add."

"Yeah the perfect day to be let out of prison eh? So planning anything special? A party with the other rogues perhaps?"

The Penguin shook his head in denial as he slipped on his jacket. "Not this time. I won't be caught with that riff raff from Arkham Asylum ever again, not if I wish to stay sane that is."

The guard scratched his head in a confused manner as he looked down at the ex-convict. "But I thought you liked the likes of Joker, Two-face and all the rest?"

"Liked? Oh no," Penguin said as he placed his monocle in his left eye. "We were all acquaintances who met up from time to time to discuss how we could defeat the valiant Batman, but I never liked them enough to form a partnership. Besides I am a reformed man now, I cannot get on the wrong side of the law again if I wish to get my rightful place back into society."

"But are you sure you're truly reformed? Remember the last time you said you were reformed?" The guard added knowing full well what had happened the last time he had said that. Come to think of it, that was the time Penguin had kidnapped and held for ransom Veronica Vreeland, but as always Penguin was defeated by Batman and brought to justice. Surprise, surprise.

"Trust me my good fellow; I have this time learned my lesson. No more crime for me. Plus I don't think I could stand another bat in my belfry, if you get my draft."

"Right," the guard muttered not really believing one word of what Penguin was saying "ready to go then?"

"Yes I believe so," Penguin said putting his hat on his head before bringing his umbrella and suitcase with him out of his cell. He then nudged the guard and handed him is belongings. "Come now, I believe a limousine will pick me up at the stop."

The guard simply sighed and shook his head. Since when did his work detail include being a luggage assister? But yet again he was dealing with the Penguin, AKA Oswald Cobblepot who always liked to give the impression he was some high society aristocrat. But even as a criminal he was different to the other scum that the Batman and the Gotham police force took down every night and day. At least this criminal had class, not to mention a good taste in the stuff he stole.

"So got any bullets in that umbrella gun?" The guard asked passing a curious glance at the umbrella Penguin was holding as they both walked down the prison corridor. The guard was clutching Penguin's suitcase with both of his hands as it was very heavy for such a small case. Penguin walked, or should we say, waddled proudly down the corridor occasionally glancing into the other cells as they passed by. But his attentions were raised by the guard when he asked the question.

"Who says this is an umbrella gun?" Penguin asked holding his umbrella up high. The guard then chuckled.

"Alright then if it's not an umbrella gun what is it? A flame thrower umbrella? Blade umbrella? Oh I know! An electric shock umbrella?"

"None of the above my good sir, it is just a standard umbrella," Penguin then opened it up "see?"

"There may be hope for you yet bird man," the guard muttered under his breath so Penguin couldn't hear him.

About twenty minutes later outside the entrance of Stonegate Penitentiary stood a very impatient yet bewildered Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. He had waited for some form of transport to pick him up from the prison to take him home. He glanced around in all directions but nothing came. He was sorely tempted to get his turbine umbrella out so he could fly away but he knew he didn't have it on him. Plus it wouldn't give the right impression to the guards if he just flew away like he did when he was escaping the Batman or the police.

"Not again," Penguin let out a moan of annoyance. No limousine was coming, and he knew what that would mean. He would have to catch that tatty old bus with that cranky woman bus driver barking at him to get on the bus because of her stupid schedule. Why did this have to happen every time he was let out of prison? Why couldn't he just once give the right impression to those blasted guards so they would stop mocking his formal style?

"What's the matter Penguin?" The guard from above called out with a few stifled laughs "your limousine broke down or something?"

"Don't start this again Mr Mockery, my friends obviously haven't heard of my release yet." Penguin called back trying to give a believable explanation why his apparent transport had arrived.

"I thought you had stolen from all of your so called friends," the guard laughed and Penguin sighed and looked down at the floor. This guard obviously liked to pick faults with everything Oswald said or did. It was as if he knew that he had no friends and that all of his attempts to get back into high society were about to fail. Penguin suddenly glanced up as he heard a familiar sound. He breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"At last."

The bus pulled up nearby where Oswald stood. This time he had made sure he was standing far enough back so the bus couldn't make him fall over. As the doors opened he noticed that grouchy lady bus driver who he was all too familiar with. He was about to step on the bus when the guard above called out.

"Good luck Penguin, with your fitting back into society!" Penguin glanced back up where the guard stood before another voice rudely interrupted his thoughts.

"Are you coming or what? My schedule doesn't have the patience for time wasters."

Penguin stepped onto the bus and just gazed at the woman plainly. "Do you think of nothing else but your schedule?"

"Yes actually," the bus driver chirped before snapping rudely at Oswald "I'm currently thinking of hitting you round the head with a heavy book if you don't sit down and stop wasting mine and everyone else's time!"

"Calm down woman," Penguin muttered as he picked up his suitcase and carried it to the only spare seat on the bus. Unfortunately for him it was next to a woman with a small child on her lap. And once he sat down the child wouldn't stop crying. Penguin wasn't at all happy to have a random child screaming down his already bleeding ear hole. And he would have to put up with that noise until he got back into Gotham city.

…

After entering the building where his apartment was located Oswald heard amongst the gossip of other peoples boring lives, the mention of him. Not out of prison for over an hour and already people were talking about him. It wasn't easy to take in words like _'God that Cobblepot's back'_ or _'the waddling miscreant Penguin is back'. _And all this was said as he entered the building and walked past all of these people. Their gazes were a mixture of shock, disgust or anger. And to think he should be used to this by now. But he wasn't. Perhaps trying to get back into society would be harder than he originally thought.

Once he got to his room Penguin opened the door not even expecting anyone to be inside welcoming him back. Last time he was expecting his fellow rogues Joker, Two-face, Killer Croc and all of the other felons to welcome him back, but not even they showed up. So what was the chance of anyone else who wasn't a criminal showing up? None of his family was alive or in Gotham to contact him and unfortunately for Oswald Cobblepot this meant one thing. He was all alone.

"I'm home," Penguin muttered weakly as he entered his apartment. All of his furniture was covered in blankets gathering dust from the lengthy time he spent in Stonegate penitentiary. And his windows were left open yet again some how, so a very big draft was the only sound other than the creaking floorboards that could be heard from within the room.

"Well it's nice to be back I guess," Penguin continued to mutter aimlessly to himself as he slung his stuff down and made his way over to the window. Penguin wasn't expecting a reply to what he had just said, but it seemed he would get one. From a rather expected intruder.

"That's nice," a low voice called from within the shadows of the room. "A great way to start your criminal activities again huh Penguin?"

"Oh it's you again is it?" Penguin's tone was obviously unimpressed and lacked enthusiasm by the person who was standing in the shadowed part of the dark room. "And technically who is committing a crime here? Breaking and entering is illegal Batman."

"Same could be said for all of the crimes you have committed Penguin," the figure known as Batman stepped out of the shadows and into the light so he was completely visible.

"I have served my time Batman and I have learned this time that I will not be tempted to turn to crime again. I intend to reform myself and get back into society as an upstanding citizen. And this time I will not have any high society pompous users like Veronica Vreeland to trifle with my emotions." Penguin explained with a strong hint of determination in his voice as he said this.

"Well we shall see wont we?" Batman replied walking past Penguin with a slight caution. "But I'm not letting you off the hook in any case. I shall be keeping a close eye on you from now on."

"There is no need," Penguin replied coolly "I am truly past the criminal stages of my life and I intend to make the Cobblepot name back into the good books of high society."

"They all say that, but it all ends up with the same fate. They all get tempted to commit more crimes and cause more work for me," Batman said glancing around the room for anything that could be suspicious for him to target Oswald to some sort of crime.

"Don't bother looking around for clues Batman. I have just entered my apartment, so I highly doubt that you'll find anything to hold against me," Penguin then cleared his throat and smirked "and if all the criminal riff raff are getting to you why don't you take a vacation? I bet you need one under that cape and cowl of yours."

"If I did that then the whole city would go berserk! That is why I am here, to take scum like you off of the street and put you where you belong. Whether it be in Stonegate Penitentiary or Arkham Asylum for that matter."

"I must say I am not surprised by your high suspicion of my apparent criminal activities, but I will just say you are wasting your time. Why bother pin pointing an innocent and changed man while the mad, raving lunatics like Two-face, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Joker are roaming the streets at night? Now if you have done insulting me like all the rest of the people I have come to pass today, will you kindly leave me and let me carry on my now normal life?" Penguin then pointed to the balcony door which was obviously the way Batman came in. He had a regular habit of making an entrance through a window. The same question about him using the stairs on occasion passed many peoples minds even the majority of criminals he had taken down.

Batman was no doubt surprised by the way Penguin was sounding. His last sentence about being insulted actually made him stop and think for a while. He did in fact sound a bit hurt by the fact people had insulted him on his first day out of prison. But it was rare for a rogue like Oswald Cobblepot to show his emotions. Or if anyone insulted his appearance he would usually either hold them for ransom or rob them. But not today. For the first time ever the Penguin was showing his true colours. Perhaps he wasn't exaggerating about his reform. But Batman couldn't be too sure, this had happened before. And not just to the Penguin.

"Alright then, but just think twice before committing your crimes. Unless you want me breathing down your neck that is." And before Penguin knew it, Batman was gone.

"Bats in my belfry, prison guards mocking my formal lifestyle, people insulting me aloud… welcome home Oswald Cobblepot!" Penguin exclaimed dramatically as he then walked out onto his balcony and looked out at the city. It was a change from the view he got from his prison cell, and surprisingly enough to him it was a beautiful view. He had been spending too much time in prison. But he was now a changed man, and sure it may take time to get the respect he deserved but he would get it! Soon even the Batman would realize that even the bad guys could turn good. And Oswald wasn't going to fall into the trap of a cold hearted scheme of a rich woman's like he did before. Not that anyone would invite him anywhere anymore. That was the bad thing right now. He was all alone. No one would think twice about getting close to him. Plus he didn't have the looks or the money to get a woman to even touch him. He was a deformed, fat, pompous aristocrat with a bad criminal reputation. Life wasn't very good to Oswald right now. He wasn't loved or cared for by anyone other than his birds. And that only provided him with a limited amount of happiness. Yes indeed it was clear that he was all alone. No friends or close acquaintances outside the criminal circle. This was going to be more difficult than he originally thought.

"Perhaps an evening stroll will clear my head from these ghastly thoughts," Penguin suggested to himself smiling a little. He rushed inside and grabbed a random umbrella from his umbrella stand, made sure his hat was securely on his head and checked his outfit over quickly in the mirror before heading towards the door. He wished to make the right impression to the people of Gotham tonight. But that would be more than he bargained for. He would of course find himself in some sort of trouble, but not the normal kind he would usually get.

And like they say "The night is still young."

Authors note: Well what do you think so far? The next chapter will be better because more happens. Anyway please review! I really love to know what people think of my stories. Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2: Abigail Nighting

Chapter 2: Abigail Nighting

Authors note: Thank you so much to Princess Gakoshi for your review! I really appreciated it. This chapter introduces my own character and two other characters who will be making an appearance later on in the story. Enjoy!

Gotham city. Usually quiet at this time of the evening. Well mostly. There was always the occasion there were some criminals wrecking havoc in some way, shape or form. And if it wasn't the rogues of Gotham, they were just average criminals making a persons life miserable. It was lucky Gotham had Batman. Without him the police would have a crisis on their hands. But Commissioner Gordon and Batman worked very closely which made it easier to track down and arrest the bad guys.

Tonight was just an average night. The sun had not long gone down and many people were making their way home from work, just average working class men and women making their way home to their families and homes. This included a certain woman whose life would be impacted from this very evening. She walked down the deserted street with some sort of bird on her shoulder. Look closely and you would notice it was a bird of prey, and not just any normal bird of prey. She had in fact got a honey buzzard perched on her shoulder. The woman herself wore a light brown outfit with a black bow tied back in her light brown hair. She wore a white undershirt with a similar black bow to the one she wore in her hair. She was quite a small yet fragile woman, but don't let that fool you. She looked barely over four and a half foot but her small figure still had flare about it. But there was something special about this particular woman. And even though she had no idea, her life was about to change forever. Her name was Abigail Nighting.

"I'll tell you something Claw I think we have hit the jackpot tonight!" The woman known as Abigail smiled patting her bird softly. "Did you see the crowds faces when you and all of those birds swooped down like that? They don't see that everyday. Keep this up and our show 'Nightingale and Claw' will be a television series as well as a small performance at the zoo."

Abigail Nighting wasn't just your average working class woman. The reason she had an un-native to Gotham bird on her shoulder was because she was a bird trainer for Gotham zoo. She put on shows there every other week for families and other people who visited the zoo on days out. She was a very popular and respected woman with a bright future ahead of her. Her show was called 'Nightingale and Claw' her nickname was Nightingale because it was taken out of her name, plus it also had something do to with what she wore and her small size. And the star of the show and her very own faithful pet buzzard was named Claw.

But Abigail's smile would soon turn upside down as she didn't realize someone was watching her. A bad point for being famous in Gotham, thieves can easily recognise you as a target and unfortunately for the victim, they would usually take their most prized possession.

Sitting on the side of the curb sat two large thugs with a bored dull look fixed on their ugly faces. One had scruffy black hair while the other had blondish brown hair neatly combed back. They both wore suits but they didn't look like business men. They were minding their own business until they saw the woman and her bird turn the corner of the street and head in their direction. The one with the scruffy black hair smiled and clasped his hands with a brilliant idea while the other just sat their staring up at the sky zoned out of the real world entirely.

"Hey Jack?" The one thug nudged the other named Jack. He nudged him twice before finally snapping Jack into reality again; Jack glanced confusingly toward his partner as he smirked.

"What?"

"Don't you recognise that lady over there?" The one thug pointed into Abigail's direction and the other looked and shrugged.

"Nope, do you Matt?" Jack replied dully causing his partner named Matt to roll his eyes.

"Don't you read the papers you twit? That is the bird lady from that zoo show! Her bird there knows more tricks and has more brains than you and I put together. I bet it's worth a fortune."

"What?" Jack held back a laugh "for that scraggy old thing? Who would pay money for a stupid bird?"

"More people than you think Jacky boy. Come on!" Matt exclaimed standing up reaching into his pocket revealing a small gun. Jack did the same as Abigail was about to walk past them.

"You definitely deserve more than a strip of bacon today my boy," Abigail spoke still oblivious to the thugs who now stood metres away from her. Claw froze unexpectedly which caused Abigail to stop and see what her bird was getting all hyped up about. It then dawned on her; these people obviously weren't your average workman. Then she saw the guns they were holding to her, she didn't know whether to scream, run or just stand there. She picked option three. Not the best choice either.

"What about a bullet to the skull?" Jack grinned pointing his gun at the bird. Matt almost instantly shoved his gun down and smacked him with his free hand.

"We don't want to kill it you idiot! We need it alive if we want the money!"

"You're not taking my bird anywhere you fools!" Abigail shouted as she decided to run past them trying to loose them. Claw was oblivious to what was going on so he flew near his owner's side. The two thugs didn't take long to react and they soon ran after her. They chased her for several streets before she finally hit a dead end of an alleyway. This was when the drama was about to start. And an unexpected hero would come to the rescue at the right moment.

…

Oswald Cobblepot had decided to go on a long walk around the streets to clear his head. He knew that the streets of Gotham were dangerous at night, but he didn't care. He was once (and still was to some people) one of the worst rogues in Gotham. Steeling from the rich and wealthy was his forte, and he usually got away with it, until Batman got involved of course. But tonight he wasn't out looking for trouble. He was only going on a steady walk to try and rid himself of the horrible thoughts people kept giving him. Most of it was the people's reactions when he entered the apartment building, but other moments like the guard at Stonegate and his run in with Batman didn't help either. Negative criticism was what he got from everyone he seemed to cross. No one took him seriously. He was either a laughing stock or a person to mock and judge. Couldn't people see that he was a changed man? The fact that he hadn't robbed anybody was a noticeable sign. But perhaps people were blind. Blind or just plain stupid.

Oswald noticed it was getting rather dark and decided to head back to his apartment to watch TV or read a book or to do something else constructive. He noticed that the shops were shutting and that people were staying in their homes at this hour. And he couldn't blame them. With nutcases like the recently escaped Joker, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy and Two-face on the loose who wouldn't be worried for their own personal wellbeing? But surely people should know now by either the news or the papers that the troublesome Penguin was no more. They couldn't be hiding from him. Could they?

Walking down a one way street full of houses Oswald noticed several children playing ball outside their home despite the fact it was getting dark. That was when he was noticed. The children had stopped playing ball and were staring at him. Odd murmurs could be heard on the other side of the street by Oswald himself. And he wasn't too impressed by the things the children were saying.

"Wow it's the Penguin!" One of the children blurted out.

"My, he looks worse than they portray him in the papers," said an older child.

"Look at those flippers for hands he has," another smirked pointing at him "and the Batman fights this guy?"

"Little miscreants," Oswald muttered snarling at the little brats who continued to point and chuckle.

Oswald continued to walk to the end of the street when he noticed a young couple kissing at the corner, he decided to be polite and ask them if he could walk past. But yet again he got what he bargained for.

"Excuse me young ones, may I pass?" The couple stopped kissing and looked down. Their eyes widened and they glanced up looking at each other before rushing away with disgusted looks on their faces. Oswald clenched his fists angrily. Wouldn't anyone take him seriously for once?

Suddenly a loud yell could be heard from the next street. It was a woman's scream! Oswald couldn't help but feel that he could finally be of use. Not unless a certain caped vigilante showed up first.

…

"We have you cornered lady. Give up the bird!" Matt snarled pursuing Abigail into the back of the alley. She continued to back away until a wall stopped her in her tracks. She was completely sealed off and there was no escape. But she wasn't going down without a fight.

"In your dreams muscle man," Abigail snapped placing an arm in front of her other where her bird was perched. Matt and Jack still pointed their guns at her as they edged towards her. Abigail searched for something to fight back with and luckily enough there was a discarded yet large piece of wood lying on the top of some sort of box. She picked it up and held it defensively.

"Ooh lucky here momma bird is angry," Jack teased still edging closer to Abigail. She glared and counted their steps. If they stepped just a metre further she would strike.

"Look lady just give up the feather ball and we'll go easy on ya," Matt offered but he could tell her answer was clear. She wasn't the type of person to give up that easily. She had a fiery spirit, and if he wasn't holding a gun at her, he would probably find her very attractive.

"Over my dead body!" Abigail then decided to lunge forward with her plank of wood only to be stopped when Matt grabbed it and smacked her across the face with it. This caused her to fall back and smack herself against the brick wall. She let out a loud shriek on impact but couldn't find the energy to move. Meanwhile her bird was perched on the box watching the entire thing, but before Claw could fly to his owner's aid he was snatched by Jack and this caused a struggle.

"So be it," Matt smirked pointing his gun to the semi conscious Abigail. Jack meanwhile was wrestling with the squawking buzzard trying but failing miserably to control it.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked as Matt clicked his gun.

"We don't want this bird lady to go calling the cops or Batman now do we? Besides she gets what's coming to her."

"But killing her in cold blood is a bit extreme for a bird. Come on, we've got the bird. Let's get out of here while we can!"

"After we've done away with Miss Nightingale here," Matt explained and he would've finished her off if it wasn't for a sudden interruption.

"Step away from the lady."

…

Oswald was no doubt surprised by what he had seen. A young but small woman being cornered by two large brutish men pointing guns at her in a dark alleyway. They were obviously after something valuable. But it wasn't until he heard the mention of a bird that he realized that they were in fact after the bird that was defensively perched on her shoulder. And astonishingly the woman practically fought back at the brutes to defend her pet. It was obvious her bird was worth more to her than her own wellbeing. But when the tallest more threatening brute smacked her around the face with a plank of wood he knew that he would have to step in. There was no Batman to save this girl so he decided to play the role of hero instead of villain for a change.

"Step away from the lady," Oswald said stepping from the shadows to reveal himself. Both Jack and Matt turned around to see who the third voice was. They both couldn't help but laugh when they saw the Penguin standing there.

"Or what fatso? You gonna poke our eyes out with that umbrella or something?" Jack said while finally getting control over the feisty bird of prey.

"If you wish me to I would be more than happy to oblige," Oswald then pointed his umbrella towards the two brutes who both began to cackle with laughter.

"Is this some sort of joke? You a Batman wannabe or something?" Matt exclaimed taking his gun away from the semi conscious woman who lay against the wall watching the commotion unfolded.

"No I have had too many run-ins with that vulgar vigilante to know how he moves. And if I were I would be wearing a cape and cowl," Oswald said plainly.

"Well why don't you mind your own business then fatso? We are finishing off ours here and now!" Matt said once again pointing his loaded gun towards Abigail. Oswald just pointed his flipper like finger and shook it in a scolding way while with his other hand he pointed his umbrella in the air.

"Didn't your mothers teach you how to treat a lady?" Oswald asked knowing full well that these brutes weren't gentlemen like in any way, shape or form.

"And didn't yours tell you how ugly you look?" Jack smirked causing Oswald to fume in anger. He had been insulted enough times today and he wouldn't stand for it anymore.

"If you don't stand back from the woman I promise I will make your lives a very short and painful one."

"What you gonna do? Umbrella us to death?" Both of the thugs burst into hysterical laughter once again and Oswald smirked.

"Perhaps," Oswald said slyly causing Matt to stop laughing when he realized Oswald was being serious. "You see this isn't just an umbrella. Anyone who has come across me knows that I have a wide range of weapons in my umbrellas. And as it so happens I seem to have picked up my gun umbrella this evening. Now step away from the lady or you'll find some bullet holes in those thick skulls of yours!"

"Don't listen to him Matt, he's just making this up in the hopes of saving his girlfriend," Jack boasted pinning down Claw to the wall to prevent the bird from struggling even more so than he was currently.

"Oh really?" Oswald snarled pointing his umbrella gun in the air firing over three shots in the air. He then pointed the umbrella back towards the thugs. Jack had let go of Claw while Oswald fired those shots because the bird was startled along with Jack and Matt. They weren't counting on him being completely serious. But he was very sincere now. "Now let the woman and her bird go!"

Matt and Jack didn't need to be told twice. They ran out of the alleyway faster than a speeding bullet. After making sure they were gone Oswald checked to see if anyone else was around. Then he turned his attentions on the woman he had just saved. She was still semi conscious but she looked like she was coming back around. Meanwhile Oswald couldn't take his eyes off of her. He knew her from somewhere but he couldn't put his finger on it. He noticed how pretty she looked, despite the fact she had just been hit by a large piece of wood.

Once Abigail had come around she sat up and immediately placed a hand on her head and rubbed it gently. She let out a small groan as her sight finally came back fully. She then immediately panicked and searched the alleyway for Claw. If those miscreant brutes took her bird there would be hell to pay. As Abigail glanced around in one direction she got the sudden image of a figure. But it wasn't one of the thugs. Instead it was a short quite round figure. Abigail stopped searching and looked straight in front of her to see a small flipper like hand reaching out to her. She looked up to see who the person was and gasped in shock when she recognised the person.

"Are you alright there Miss?" The man looked down upon her with a large amount of concern on his face. She knew who he was and she didn't wish to get involved with him in any way. And to think she had planned on a quiet evening at home. Now she was finding herself being bombarded with a large amount of criminals. Who was next? The Joker?

"I am fine," Abigail said quickly "where is my bird?"

"Here," Oswald smiled revealing Claw to be perched on his arm. Abigail would have smiled if she didn't know who this fellow was. But she knew who he was alright, and she didn't want to get on the wrong side of him.

"Thank you for saving my bird but I must go. Two thugs have already tried to mug me tonight, the last thing I need is the Penguin on my case," Abigail swiftly stood up and walked straight past him.

"No wait!" Oswald blurted grabbing her slender arm with his flipper like hand. Abigail looked down in surprise to see him grab onto her arm like that. He was no doubt surprised by his own actions himself and soon their eyes met. Abigail would've moved her arm, grabbed her bird and flown the coop by now but something was preventing her from doing that. She couldn't help but smile at him. _The Penguin _had just saved her neck and this was the way she was re-paying him. Discarding him without a second thought. But he was a wanted criminal wasn't he? Why would a rogue like the Penguin want to save an ordinary woman like Abigail Nighting?

Oswald couldn't help but blush at his actions. At first he was expecting a belt around the head by the woman but then he noticed she wasn't resisting him. In fact they were just staring at each other blankly waiting for the other to say something. The situation was getting more and more awkward by the second and before he knew it the woman decided to speak.

"Oh my," Abigail placed her free hand on her head as she began to feel a bit woozy. That bump on the head with that wood must have given her a minor concussion. Oswald noticed this and guided her to the wall. He had witnessed what those menaces had done to her so he knew she would probably feel slightly dizzy after that.

"Easy there," Oswald then let go of her arm as she leant up against the wall. Judging size wise the woman was just taller than him. Not a big size difference between them at all. This made it easier to communicate.

Abigail looked across her to see a pair of concerned eyes staring at her. Not only was it any old pair of eyes, but the pair of eyes belonged to one of the most well known and feared criminals in all of Gotham. Funny, Abigail always saw the reports on TV of the Penguin's trials and she always had the impression he was a ruthless show no mercy criminal like Two-face, but now she met him face to face he seemed the complete opposite. Now he was a completely different man. Not every villain would stand up for an innocent victim like that.

"W-why did you save me back there?" Abigail managed to say still clutching her head with her hand as the world felt like it was spinning about her. Oswald smiled softly and petted her bird as he rested on his shoulder.

"Couldn't let such a fine specimen of bird get into the wrong hands now could I?" Oswald replied receiving a chuckle from Abigail "plus I never wish to see an innocent woman harmed by that sort of riff raff."

"That actually surprises me to hear you say that," Abigail began with a sceptical tone "by what I have seen in the news papers you have been convicted of such crimes yourself."

"I see you know my alter ego quite well," Oswald began "well that is all in the past now. If you know me so well you would know that I am now a reformed man and I don't intend to hurt anyone ever again."

"Where have I heard that before?" Abigail muttered to herself referring to the other times villains like him who had claimed to be reformed in the past but always ended up turning back to crime. Penguin was among others like Harley Quinn, Riddler and even Poison Ivy who claimed to be reformed at one point. But none of them could resist temptation for long. And two separate incidents, between Penguin and Harley Quinn, involved kidnapping the rich woman Veronica Vreeland.

Oswald ignored her last comment and decided to ask her the question that had been bugging him since he first laid eyes on her. What made him so familiar with her?

"Pray do I know you from somewhere Miss?" Oswald asked as Abigail finally let go of her head as the dizziness was wearing off.

"Nighting. Abigail Nighting."

"Oh I know you," Oswald grinned suddenly realizing who she was "I've seen you in the papers and on the TV once in prison. You're that bird lady Nightingale from Gotham zoo!"

"That's me," Abigail smiled proudly.

"Oh my, did I mention I am a bird lover myself?" Oswald asked sheepishly.

"The thought had crossed my mind considering the majority of your crimes involve birds and you go by the name Penguin."

"Well despite my criminal escapades I also train birds myself," Oswald said as Claw squawked on his shoulder "but that is nothing compared to what I hear you are capable of. I already see you keep your bird well trained."

"Oh Claw is just my pride and joy as all. It's funny how he can stand you, usually he's a very overprotective bird," Abigail noted as Oswald let Claw pass from his arm to hers.

"Perhaps he knows of my love for birds," Oswald suggested humorously. Abigail chuckled at his comment as several things crossed her mind. Why was she making small talk with a criminal who had stuck fear into the hearts of many? One whom people had insulted to drive him to crime? This intrigued Abigail more than anything. The fact that this so called criminal was standing before her making a civilized conversation with her about something they had in common. He was depicted on being a heartless thief on the news, but in person she could see that this was just another gentleman who had a hard life because of his appearance and the life he had chosen to take. But was Abigail really prepared to see past all that and see the true person Oswald Cobblepot wanted to become?

"You really have changed haven't you?" Abigail added changing the subject slightly.

"Yes I have," Oswald replied "but society isn't welcoming me back with open arms as you may have heard."

"It will take a while but you should make it if you intend to stay away from crime."

"But why could you possibly wish to be around me?" Oswald asked looking down at the floor with a hint of sadness visible on his face "any other woman would have run away screaming if they saw me."

"I'm not any other woman." Abigail smirked "besides if you'd have wanted to rob me you would've done it by now."

"So have I finally found someone who truly believes that I have changed?" Oswald asked as his hopes raised high.

"I believe so," Abigail smiled. She then finally released her grip on the wall and stood up. Her height was obvious now as she was barely five inches taller than Oswald. She glanced at her watch and her face fell slightly "Oh my look at the time, I guess we had better be going before anyone else comes to take Claw. Goodbye Mr Penguin."

"Wait, maybe I should escort you?" Oswald suggested with a hint of eager determination in his voice "you don't know what sort of riff raff roams the streets at this time of night."

"Alright then Mr Cobblepot," Abigail said almost instantly. She would've regretted it but some feeling inside her made it difficult for her to refuse his offer. The man had just saved her life for crying out loud! Plus he stuck his arm out like a gentleman. Abigail simply smiled taking the arm that awaited her own.

"Please Miss Nighting, call me Oswald."

"Alright, Oswald it is…"

This was going to be the start of a long and close friendship!

Authors note: Well this was the introduction to my character. Over the next few chapters her relationship with Penguin will develop until the key point in the story which should happen later on. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would appreciate some reviews! Thanks!


	3. Chapter 3: Being understood for once

Chapter 3: Being understood for once

Authors note: Thank you to Princess Gakoshi yet again for your wonderful review! I'm glad you found it beautiful because it will get better later on. Right now this chapter is really based around after the events in the previous chapter. Nothing much happens but a bit about Oswald's and Abigail's pasts are hinted. Later on you'll find out how Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot became the Penguin (they don't say in the series so I decided to make up my own for later on). Anyway enjoy!

Abigail Nighting hadn't expected this. This morning she awoke expecting her average day to be in its orderly fashion; get up, do some shopping, perform to the crowd with the zoo's birds and then head home to watch some television before going to bed and starting the same routine all over again. Instead she almost got mugged and killed by two distinguished brutes and saved by one of Gotham's ex-rogues, the Penguin. It was lucky in some ways that it was the Penguin who came to her rescue. Even when he was off on a crime spree he was one of the few who would purposely hurt someone without a reason. Unlike the likes of Joker and Two-face, with Joker he would just kill you for a laugh, and with Two-face he would simply let a coin decide your fate. With the Penguin, it was if you insulted him, ruined his plans or took him for granted, that was when he usually turned nasty.

People often mocked Oswald Cobblepot based on his appearance. Even before he turned to crime he was a laughing stock for the high society aristocrats to tease and make fun of. That was one of the many reasons he turned to crime. Sure he was from a wealthy highly respected family, but that wasn't enough. The Cobblepot family were always known for being arrogant and stuck up and even his own parents showed little pride in their son. Oswald was never the best person for making friends either, his grotesque appearance got in the way of receiving any love from anyone outside relations. And this made him sad, angry and full of cold emotions. Crime seemed to be the only ailment to cure the hurt he had suffered throughout his life. All he wanted was respect. Was that too much to ask for?

But then suddenly tonight had changed him in a way. He was currently escorting a young slightly attractive woman home after saving her from a cruel fate from a bunch of heartless criminals. At first he expected her to beat him, especially at the point when he grabbed her arm to prevent her from running away. He expected her to hurt him in some way for even being near her, but surprisingly enough it was the exact opposite. After clearing a few things up they had got talking and became close. And to think this was all over the mutual interest of birds. Could it be for once in his miserable life Oswald Cobblepot had found someone whom he could relate to? Someone who wouldn't judge him on his looks or past or use him for their own personal gain?

"So Tell me, which street do you live Miss Abigail?" Oswald queried as he escorted the woman he had just saved home.

"Oh I live in the apartment block on South end Street," Abigail replied "not far from here."

Suddenly the atmosphere went quiet a little. Nothing tense or anything just a peaceful kind of quiet. The sound of police sirens and cars blasting their horns in the background could be heard amongst the other regular city noises. Oswald looked across to Abigail and smiled sweetly. She didn't notice until her buzzard companion that was perched on her shoulder crouched down to receive a stroke from Oswald.

"You know I am really surprised he has taken a shine to you," Abigail noted watching her bird receive loving attention from Oswald. "He doesn't warm up to strangers as quickly as he has with you. I know he's a very overprotective of me to even try and warm up to anyone."

"Well I guess he thinks of me as a father bird," Oswald suggested receiving a chuckle from Abigail.

"Well I heard you have a way with birds Mr Cobblepot, I even had to train one of your birds before now at Gotham zoo."

"Really?" Oswald felt his eyes widen as Abigail nodded still smiling down at him.

"Don't you remember your vulture Scrap?" Abigail asked "after you were arrested he was donated to the Gotham zoo. And of course you had trained him to be a very ruthless bird so the zoo relied on me to train him to be more tamed."

"You trained my Scrap? How is he doing may I ask?" Oswald asked obviously intrigued by this woman's uncanny experience with birds. He remembered his faithful pet vulture Scrap. He had kept him close at hand while he was after that priceless Fabergé Egg, but of course after being beaten by Batman and a bunch of miscreant children he was arrested and his bird was donated to Gotham zoo. He had of course trained his bird only to obey him, but obviously he had underestimated Abigail Nighting's bird training talents.

"He is fine. I don't use him for my shows though. I am afraid I'm not allowed to use the endangered birds to perform a bunch of random tricks. My boss says so," Abigail's face fell when she mentioned her boss. Oswald noticed this and a hint of curiosity fill his face.

"Ah I see, do you have problems with your boss or something?"

"No, other than him wanting to cancel my show and fire me of course, but other than that everything is just peachy," Abigail said with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Why on earth would he want to fire you?" Oswald exclaimed turning his full attention from Claw to Abigail.

"To save money. He sees no point in my show and thinks I only train birds to perform petty tricks. I personally think he's jealous because my career is finally taking off and he wants me to scrounge for money like those thugs who attacked me back there."

"Well you just keep your head held high my dear and you should prove your employer wrong," Oswald encouraged. Abigail smiled at him once again gratefully. Not only had he saved her life tonight, but he was now giving her valuable advice.

"There's something about you Oswald Cobblepot that baffles me," Abigail pointed out.

"And what is that my dear?"

"You are from a rich family; you were once a notorious criminal and now you've reformed you've taken to being a gentle hero. But the question is, why?"

"My tale of woe hasn't been told to anyone but myself Miss Nighting," Oswald replied coldly turning away a little. He knew she didn't know how hard life was for him being the way he was. Being a wanted criminal with deformed hands and a large nose and a penguin like body made him feel completely rejected by the outside world. Even after today, he wondered why this woman was still talking to him.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend," Abigail apologised a hint of concern evident in her voice.

"It's alright I don't expect you to understand as all," Oswald said still looking away. Abigail's eyes darted around the streets until they stopped at a building. She suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked up at the tall building.

"I'm home."

"Would you like me to see you up?" Oswald asked hopefully and Abigail wasn't too sure how to answer. She had just had a very civilized and pleasant conversation with this man and she seemed reluctant to part from him right now. But another part of her wished he would go away. She probably thought that because she had the fear he would turn angry and hurt her, but he seemed like such a nice man. Nicer than any man she had ever met before in fact.

"Would you like to have a cup of tea with me?" Abigail asked almost instantly not knowing what she was saying.

"Really?" Oswald said taken aback by her question. He was expecting her to say no and that they would never see each other again. Instead, he had been invited to join her for tea in her apartment. Yet again Abigail Nighting was intriguing him. After finally getting to grips with what she had asked him he replied "I mean I would love to."

"Great," Abigail smiled "then we can continue our talk on birds."

"I would love to." Oswald repeated again too busy blushing to notice he was acting like a schoolboy.

…

After spending an hour in Abigail's apartment discussing birds and their other interests Oswald and Abigail still couldn't stop talking. They had so much in common it was uncanny. And not only were they interested in birds, but they shared the same opinions on art, politics and other things.

"I must say Miss Nighting you have a very nice apartment here," Oswald commented as he sat waiting in the living room area while Abigail was in the kitchen making another drink of tea.

"Thank you," Abigail began as she exited the kitchen holding two cups of tea in her hands. "It's nothing much really. I'm not rich enough to afford a fancy apartment. But it suits me just fine."

"But your décor is just as tasteful as my own," Oswald noted glancing around the room at various paintings with birds on them before glancing up above the fireplace at a portrait of Abigail and Claw "not to mention that lovely portrait of you and your faithful pet."

"Thank you, I had that one done over a year ago when a friend of mine recommended the artist. He did a good job on Claw's feathers in particular," Abigail replied handing Oswald his tea.

"Thank you," Oswald smiled as he sipped his tea "ah earl grey. A fine specimen of tea. So tell me my dear, do you really live in this apartment all alone?"

"Yes besides Claw here," Abigail said dully "I'm afraid I don't have a very good social life outside the bird realm and no man I have met or dated takes me or my love of birds seriously."

"You know that is exactly how I feel," Oswald agreed placing his cup down before standing up. He made his way over to her mantel above the fireplace and observed the photographs that were placed on there. The majority of them were Abigail with her different birds when she was younger. But one or two were a picture of her family. Oswald smiled at one in particular and picked it up and studied it closely before placing it back on the mantel.

"Tell me, did your family like birds too?"

"Not really, they let me pursue my hobby for bird training but other than that they weren't too keen. I must say, their faces I can still remember clearly when I first brought a bird inside the house." Abigail smirked at the very thought. She then gazed at Oswald as he sat back down "but what about you? I read once that your family owned a bird shop, am I right?"

"You really do know about me don't you?" Oswald said showing his surprise in his expression. He took another sip of his tea before replying "yes they did. Growing up was hard for me because I had no friends I could relate to. But everyday I would visit the only ones who really showed me any attention. My birds. I guess I had no one I could relate to other than my birds."

"I know how you feel," Abigail looked down sadly. "I too felt alone, I still do."

"We share many things in common don't we Miss Nighting?" Oswald smiled and grabbed her hand from across the table. Abigail gasped and looked up. This was the second time he had caught her off guard tonight, but both times she didn't mind. Somehow deep inside her Oswald made her feel special. But she refused to believe it in her head; they had only just met for crying out loud!

"Yes I believe so," Abigail said looking at the floor awkwardly. Oswald took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time. Was it really that late? Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?

"My is that the time. I am sorry my dear but I must head back to my humble abode. I still have packing to sort out after being released from prison this afternoon." Oswald said as he stood up and placed his pocket watch back in his pocket. Abigail also stood up as she spoke.

"I'll show you to the door."

Once they had reached the doorway Oswald decided to ask a final question before leaving. He really hoped she would say yes, but he somehow had the horrible feeling she would say no. But he could at least try.

"Um Miss Nighting?" Oswald began taking a deep breath before he continued "this might sound a little abrupt but would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow evening?"

Abigail couldn't help but giggle at his awkward smile. When he found it difficult to get his words out he looked completely innocent and dare she say cute. How could she say no to him after all he had done for her tonight? And it wasn't a date, just a friendly meal between two people who had many things in common. But would it be so bad if it was a date? Abigail didn't know how to answer that question. But she already had an answer to his question.

"Yes Oswald I'd love too!" Abigail grinned at the dumbfounded Oswald. Did she just say yes? It took her answer several seconds to go through his mind. He tried his best to keep his embarrassed blush from her but he couldn't help himself.

"Oh wonderful," Oswald began taking his hat off as he bowed a little to her "I'll pick you up tomorrow at seven?"

"That would be great."

"Well goodnight Miss Nighting."

"Please Oswald, call me Abigail."

"Alright, Miss- um I mean Abigail."

"Goodnight Oswald," Abigail chuckled as she began to shut her door. Oswald meanwhile was smacking his head for being such a fool in front of her. Once they had said their goodbyes Abigail shut her door and leant against it.

"Claw, what did I just do?" Abigail muttered walking over to her bird who sat on his own perch in the corner of the room. She couldn't help but cringe at her own actions. "I just invited a well known criminal in my home and yet we had the most civilized conversation I have ever had with a man in my entire life. But why I said yes to seeing him again I will never know. He's the Penguin for crying out loud! One of Gotham's rogues and I'm allowing myself to get close to him? Why?" Abigail then stopped frowning and couldn't stop a small smile appear on her face. "But on the other hand, he was very heroic in saving us like that huh? Plus he seemed almost adorable when he was at a loss for words."

Abigail then smacked her head at the very notion. She had just called him adorable! "Oh I need to get a grip! Perhaps a bath and a goodnights sleep will do the trick. But I still look forward to seeing him again. For once in my miserable life I think I have found a man who truly understands me. Shame it has to be the Penguin though."

But from this day forward Abigail's thoughts of the Penguin would change for the better. Both Oswald and Abigail truly understood each other. But As they days grew darker and the secrets were revealed, they wouldn't realize how much they really did understand until it was too late.

Authors note: So how did it go? I hope it didn't bore you too much. It will get better but nothing much happens in this chapter. In the next on Oswald will take Abigail out to dinner but something more interesting will happen as well. Anyway please review! I really wish to see what people think of this story. And by the way Oswald may seem a little out of character in some parts but he is meant to. I'm showing his more emotional side in this story. Even super villains have feelings too you know! Anyway thanks for reading I shall update soon!


	4. Chapter 4: A dinner with some twists

Chapter 4: A dinner with some twists and turns

Authors note: Thank you all so much for the reviews! I am glad my story is appealing to some people who appreciate the Penguin like myself. Now in this chapter we'll see some re-occurring villains who'll appear later on in the story too. Come on now you're not expecting just an average dinner with the Penguin are you? Enjoy!

Abigail Nighting awoke from her sleep the next morning after dreaming of the events of the night before. She still couldn't believe what had happened. So close to death and then an unexpected hero saves the day. Not Batman, Robin or Batgirl for that matter someone completely opposite. The Penguin of all people! Ex Rogue of Gotham turned good. And not only did he save her but he escorted her home, had tea with her and then invited her to dinner which she had said yes too! What on Earth was she thinking?

While getting some breakfast Abigail decided to check her answering machine to see if she had any voice messages. Usually she would check it after she got home from work but after last nights events all she wanted to do was relax. As the messages played aloud she decided to make herself some breakfast.

"Hello Abigail Nighting. Congratulations on winning our prize draw! You have won 10,000 dollars worth of vouchers and-"

"Stupid Spam messages!" Abigail groaned slamming the button down to skip to the next message "how do they get my number?"

"Good afternoon Miss Nighting would we interest you in Wayne industries new 'Gotham Lady perfume'?"

"No!" Abigail slammed her finger down yet again on the voice message. "Whatever Bruce Wayne has he can keep it. Stupid playboy billionaire."

As the last message replayed Abigail stopped what she was doing and listened closely. It wasn't a spam message like the other two, instead it was someone else.

"Good evening Miss Nighting, this is Mr Hail the manager of Gotham zoo calling to ask could you attend an urgent meeting tomorrow at 10 o'clock exactly please? It is vital that we discuss your show's future tomorrow so if you could attend on time for a change that would be great. Thank you and have a good night."

Abigail finally pressed the button down on her answering machine as she went to finish off the toast she was currently preparing for herself. She shrugged glumly and sighed "Party never stops on Abigail Nighting's answering machine does it eh Claw?" Her bird squawked in response and she just sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall. Eight o'clock and already she was hating the day. She had an hour to get ready, go to work, train some birds, get home, get ready and then go out for a dinner with Oswald Cobblepot. And now her boss wanted to talk to her concerning her job? Brilliant!

Mr Hail wasn't the nicest of people. As Abigail Nighting had found out. He was only interested in making money and had no consideration for his staff or the animals that made the zoo for that matter. Ever since she started training birds at Gotham zoo Abigail noticed he was always keeping a close eye on her, watching her like the hawks she trained, breathed down her neck every time she stepped out of line. He called her an idealist, but she just knew it was her love for birds that made her determined to change the way he treated the animals at the zoo. They weren't money bags for him to use whenever he wished, they were living, breathing creatures with emotions and feelings like any person. But people like Mr Hail didn't see that. To him, it was just another way of making money.

"What have I done to the world recently?" Abigail muttered to herself "If it's not my boss trying to push me out of a job it's a bunch of thugs trying to kill me and ex-criminals trying to rescue me. I must be committing some bad deeds if I am to deserve all of this. Oh well let's see what today brings, and how this meal with Mr Cobblepot goes tonight."

And Abigail would be in for a surprise today after the events which followed after heading to work.

…

Oswald Cobblepot awoke from his sleep in his cold dusty apartment with a smile on his chubby face. He was looking forward to tonight especially but also he was looking forward to his first official day away from prison. He turned on his TV only to be bombarded with visions from his past life of crime. Summer Gleason was reporting the news from the Gotham central bank where there had been an incident the night before. Oswald watched and listened closely to see which one of his previous fellow Rogues had committed this offence.

"A Burglary of the Gotham central bank which occurred last night awoke citizens with a loud explosion. The culprits involved in this scandalous crime are no other than the Joker and his accomplice Harley Quinn. The Batman was present at the scene but he failed to catch the crazed crime clown. So now the Joker and Harley Quinn are still at large with a huge some of money from the bank heist. Where will they strike next? And will they along with Two-face and Poison Ivy be taken down by Batman and Gotham PD? Or will they continue on their crime spree until someone gets hurt? Back to you Jim."

"Ha, and Batman was worried that I'd commit crimes? I don't see my name on today's headlines," Oswald chirped but instantly regretted saying that as a picture of him came up on the headlines back at the studio. He was in the news, unfortunately.

"Back to other news now. Oswald Cobblepot, as known as the Penguin was released from Stonegate Penitentiary yesterday after serving his sentence for his past crimes. Claiming to be a reformed citizen Mr Cobblepot has sworn he will never go back to crime, but will he keep his promise?"

"I said I would never go back to crime you dimwits! Do I need to have it in writing?" Oswald shouted at the TV angrily. He knew people would distrust him at first but it seemed even the news reporters didn't take him seriously! Batman, the guards at Stonegate, and the general public. All of them couldn't seem to understand that Oswald Cobblepot had moved on in his life. The only person who had actually given him respect and trust was Abigail.

The reporter continued to speak of him on the news and Oswald continued to listen to what he had to say. He had a right to know what other people thought about him, especially when it was on the news.

"Here with me now is a reporter for the Gotham Gazette, Mr Gary Smith. So Gary do you believe this notion that the Penguin has turned away from crime?"

"Well Jim it is obvious to even the general public that when a criminal claims to be reformed, they really just want a chance to be out of prison. Oswald Cobblepot had claimed to be reformed before and what did that lead to him doing? He kidnapped Gotham's sweetheart Veronica Vreeland and held her for ransom and almost killed her. And if it wasn't for the Batman she wouldn't have survived her encounter with the Rogue."

"She played with my emotions and used me you twit! Did you ever think of that?" Oswald exclaimed knowing full well what had happened back then. This was the problem with these kinds of people they all had fixed opinions and took no consideration on what had really happened.

"And of course other villains like Edward Nygma AKA Riddler, Pamela Isely AKA Poison Ivy and even Harleen Quinzell AKA Harley Quinn have claimed to be reformed once before, yet they all turned back to crime again. What makes Mr Cobblepot any different?" Mr Smith continued on TV specifically going into detail about who had claimed to be reformed or not.

"But they're all held in Arkham Asylum while the Penguin was held at Stonegate Penitentiary. Surely he could be telling the truth in what he says. He is after all clinically sane!" The reporter Jim replied. Oswald kept his mouth shut and watched as the argument about him occurred over TV.

"Jim, it doesn't matter where the criminals are held. Whether it be Arkham Asylum, Stonegate Penitentiary or even just any other prison. A criminal is a criminal and I believe that the sooner the Penguin realizes that he is and always be a criminal the sooner we can put him away again and be rid of another nuisance in our Rogue ridden community."

"I'll show you 'Rogue ridden' you blasted reporter!" Oswald grabbed the television remote and switched the off button to prevent anymore harsh words from that horrible reporter.

He was sick of everyone predicting what he'd do. He was sick of what they said about him to him or behind his back. He was also sick of people making choices for him. Perhaps it was time he proved those people wrong. And it would start tonight. He would give Abigail Nighting a night she would never forget. And perhaps he could be understood a lot more by her than anyone else, perhaps even more than his own parents ever did.

…

"Take a seat Miss Nighting," Abigail entered the office with caution as her employer gave her instructions. He was busy writing something down in his log book to notice her but he knew she was in the room. Abigail sat down and observed her surroundings. Mr Hail's office wasn't very big, but it suited him really considering his size. He was a short man, a little taller than Abigail herself but still rather short compared to other people. He wore glasses and was practically bald too. Pictures of him shaking hands with other business men were scattered about the walls of the office and much to Abigail's displeasure she knew that every single one of those men in those pictures had contributed in some way to damage the habitats. Especially for birds in particular.

"So Miss Nighting," Mr Hail began looking up at Abigail professionally through his glasses "I have called you here to discuss your show and I-"

"Mr Hail, forgive me for sounding rude or anything but you haven't really liked my show ever since it began have you?" Abigail interrupted getting straight to the point. Mr Hail slowly took off his glasses and kept his heavy gaze on Abigail. He sighed before speaking.

"In all truth, no," Mr Hail admitted "but the audience seem to love it."

"Then why pick faults with it if it's appealing to the visitors?"

"Because it isn't making a decent profit Miss Nighting. That and the fact training birds to perform a bunch of useless tricks is making your show turn out to be like a circus."

"Mr Hail sir," Abigail began feeling her temper slowly rise "it's not all about money you know. You should be concerned about what the public want, not what you or the board of directors want. And as for the circus accusation, do you see lions and elephants flying across a circus ring for meat? I am training these birds' survival tactics that they could use in the wild. Just because some of my tricks require fire and water or a couple of ropes does not mean my show is becoming a circus."

"My, my," Mr Hail spoke quietly "you are a very determined woman aren't you Miss Nighting? I called you here so I could make one point clear to you."

"And what would that be?" Abigail asked hoping for dear life that it wouldn't be the dreaded cancel word.

"My point is that you either find a way of getting more money for this so called circus with birds' thing, or your show is cancelled. Got that Miss Nighting?"

Abigail inwardly sighed as she looked at the floor. It took her several moments to reply but when she finally did she kept it brief and to the point "Yes sir."

"Good, now shut the door on your way out. Oh and make those birds shut up squawking, they're giving me a headache."

Abigail did as she was asked as she made her way back to the aviary where she worked when she wasn't performing. Being in the company of birds all day was her job, and she liked it. She remained there until her shift was over. And on the way home she was cautious. She didn't want to run into those thugs again. But when she got in she knew that she would have to get ready quite quickly as soon she would be going out to dinner with Oswald Cobblepot. Tonight's events couldn't get any worse than what had happened at work, could they?

…

Oswald decided to make his way to Abigail's apartment around quarter to seven in the evening. That gave him a quarter of an hour to get there, meanwhile he couldn't stop smiling to himself as he waddled out of his apartment building and made his way along the streets of Gotham, avoiding peoples eye contact in the process. He was dressed up smart. He wore the same usual outfit he wore daily but it was blue instead of white and black. His long black hair was neatly resting on his round shoulder and his hat rested on his head proudly. His monocle rested in his right eye and for a change he had decided to leave his cigarette holder at home. But he hadn't forgotten what he had chosen to bring with him. His umbrella gun. Just in case something went awry.

Once getting to her apartment he knocked on the door and awaited it to be opened. When Abigail got to the door she opened it and he did his best to do his winning smile. She on the other hand just signalled him inside whilst rushing about aimlessly.

"Hello my dear are you ready yet?" Oswald began as he entered the room proudly.

"Almost, just need to tie my hair back," Abigail replied grabbing a brush and a hair bobble from her dressing table in her bedroom. Oswald sat down on her chair and waited patiently. His smile not vanishing for a second.

"You don't have to do that for me my dear, I like your hair down." Oswald chirped surprising Abigail a little.

"Well I prefer it tied up. There that is better," Abigail said as she entered the room.

"Ready to go then?" Oswald stood up.

"Yes," Abigail then walked over to Claw who sat perched on his stand wondering where his owner was going "I'll be gone for a few hours Claw. Bye."

The bird simply squawked in reply as Abigail and Oswald made their way out of the room and shut the door behind them.

…

At the restaurant it was a quiet surrounding. Many people were seated around having their own conversations but at the corner of the restaurant sat Oswald and Abigail. They were talking amongst themselves on the subject of birds. The main topic they had in common among other things.

"So Abigail what other birds have you trained other than your Claw and my Scrap?" Oswald asked resting his arms on the table curiously.

"Well I have trained a variety of birds. I don't just train birds of prey you know. I have trained parrots, water birds and even the small garden birds. But my personal favourites will always be birds of prey," Abigail replied.

"Ah birds of prey always fascinated me when I was a child. I even purposely let one steal my chicken leg before when I was ten to observe it up close," Oswald chuckled at the memory of it.

"And what did your parents say?" Abigail chuckled.

"They weren't too happy. But I would say they were more interested in socializing with their high society friends than paying any attention to me," Oswald frowned a little.

"I understand you completely there. This one time a seagull stole my father's sandwich right out of his hands and I cheered a little too loudly. I'm afraid what he did after made me feel more alone than ever with my interest with birds," Abigail said.

"What did he do?"

"He smacked me and told me to stop being so pathetic over a bird," Abigail then chuckled coldly "funny my boss reminds me of him."

"Still have issues with your boss then?" Oswald enquired.

"More than ever," Abigail then picked up her glass of wine and had a drink "told me I have to attract more people or he'll cancel my show. And he had the nerve to call it a circus!"

"That money grabbing moron," Oswald spat aloud "birds should be respected and loved creatures not used for gaining a profit."

"My thoughts exactly. But I don't think the world agrees with us."

"I'm glad I finally found someone with similar opinions to my own," Oswald smiled resting his head on his hand while he gazed at Abigail. She rested her hands on the table and grinned back.

"You are a fascinating bird Mr Cobblepot."

"As are you Miss Nighting."

"Ahem," a voice interrupted unexpectedly and both Oswald and Abigail looked up to the waiter who had their meals on a trolley. While Oswald ordered fish pie with a dip Abigail ordered a chicken casserole with some bread. The man stood there awkwardly and both Oswald and Abigail moved so he could place their meals on the table.

"Thank you fine chap," Oswald thanked as he gazed hungrily at his food.

"You're welcome," the waiter said as he pushed the trolley away glumly.

"Such an enchanting evening is it not?" Oswald asked as he looked back at Abigail again.

"Yes it is indeed," Abigail smiled taking a first bite of her food.

"Do you go out often Miss Nighting?" Oswald pondered curiously.

"No, I told you I have no social life outside my birds," Abigail said before the situation became a little awkward for the first time that evening. Soon Oswald began to speak again, this time it was a subject that didn't involve birds.

"You know Abigail if you are ever embarrassed by me or anything like that you can tell me you know."

"Why do you think I am embarrassed to be with you?" Abigail asked raising an eyebrow.

"The last time I recall taking a woman out to dinner was the time I didn't realize how much I embarrassed her to the point she and her friends made a laughing stock out of me which eventually drove me to crime when I found out I was only being used for a sick joke," Oswald said with a hint of distaste in his voice.

"And who was this woman?" Abigail enquired.

"Veronica Vreeland," Oswald muttered bitterly. Abigail stopped eating and dropped her fork on her plate. She gazed at Oswald softly yet sincerely at the same time.

"That pompous woman doesn't deserve to be alive if she did that to you," Abigail began as she decided to be completely honest with him "listen Oswald, I didn't choose to be rescued by you. By heck you were the last person I would expect to come out of nowhere and start shooting your umbrella gun at those thugs. But I am glad you did. Now I am not a person who judges by looks or anything like that until I know the person by their personality. And you Oswald Cobblepot, you are so unique it's uncanny. Now I am not the kind of person who decides it would be funny to play a sick joke on a poor person just to be invited to some party for a bunch of high class people to laugh and mock. I heard about what happened in the news papers and I felt sorry for you even then. So the answer to your question is no, no I am not embarrassed by you. And I would never use you for anything."

"I appreciate to hear those words," Oswald said smiling gratefully. Abigail picked up her fork and the pair continued to eat until they were finished.

After they continued to talk about their interests and what they had in common Abigail and Oswald decided to pay the cheque and leave. A few odd murmurs from other guests could be heard as the pair exited the restaurant but they just decided to ignore them. It seemed that other people's opinions didn't bother him when he was around Abigail. It was as if she were a force field blocking out all of the bad things people saw in him and she saw that he was a better person. Now that they knew a lot about each other they were becoming very close.

As they made their way through the doors of the restaurant Oswald escorted Abigail through the streets of Gotham city. It was growing very dark and the street lights were on. They quietly talked as they made their way back to Abigail's apartment building.

"So did you enjoy the meal Miss Nighting?" Oswald asked hopefully.

"Yes I did very much. And will you call me Abigail please Oswald? Miss Nighting makes me feel like you're my teacher," Abigail added causing Oswald to blush a little.

"Sorry my dear I keep forgetting."

"It's quite alright Ozzy," Abigail smirked using his nickname.

"If you're going to call me Ozzy young lady I think I should call you Abby," Oswald teased with a glint in his eyes.

"Alright then, Ozzy it is," Abigail smirked punching him a lightly on his shoulder.

"So should I drop you off at home then?" Oswald asked changing the subject abruptly.

"If you wish Mr Cobblepot."

"By the way Abigail I didn't ask you a question I intended to ask you tonight."

"Really and what was that question?" Abigail asked curiously. It wasn't until they turned the corner of the street that they would realize they had made a wrong turn. Not as in direction wise, but as in situation wise.

"What is your favourite bird?"

Abigail would've replied if it wasn't for an unexpected red and black figure jump out in front of them holding a gun out to them. Abigail groaned inwardly. Not again!

"Freeze you two!" A squeaky yet deadly voice ordered. Oswald stepped in front of Abigail in a defensive position and grabbed his umbrella gun tightly as the figure spoke. It wasn't until he recognised the figure that he decided to hide his umbrella gun.

"Harley Quinn?"

"Who's askin' bub?"

"Don't you recognise me?" Oswald asked to the girl who now revealed herself to be none other than Harley Quinn, the same someone dressed in a red and black jester outfit with a heavy make up face and black mask covering her eyes.

"Oh yeah your that bird guy ain't ya?" Harley began as a small dainty grin revealed itself over her red lipstick. She still pointed the gun at the pair but she didn't look as threatening as she did to begin with. "Puffin right?"

"Penguin," Oswald corrected.

"That's the fella!" Harley exclaimed "So how ya been Pengy? I see ya got yourself a girlfriend there," Harley then pointed towards a bewildered Abigail.

"I am fine and this lady isn't my girlfriend just a young friend of mine I took out to dinner," Oswald explained.

"Face it Pengy, she's ya girlfriend," Harley smirked "she's pretty, short, but pretty. Ain't you two a cute couple?"

"Listen Harley you've got it all wrong," Oswald began but he knew it was pointless. Harley never listened, not even to the Joker. And people wondered why he beat her and kicked her out all the time.

"You know you two could join me and Mr J. A double date!" Harley squealed with excitement. Oswald glanced towards Abigail who just stood there frozen. She knew who Harley Quinn was. Was there anyone who didn't? The Joker's psychotic girlfriend. Speaking of whom.

"Harley what in the name of Arkham Asylum are you blabbering about now? We've got a jewellery store to rob you know!" Another voice came from inside the building Harley, Oswald and Abigail stood outside. It was soon revealed to be none other than the Joker himself. He looked angry, and Harley wasn't making the situation any easier.

"Look Puddin' it's ya old friend Penguin and his new girlfriend!" Harley pointed and Joker turned from his sidekick to the two people who stood in the middle of the street. Joker turned to glance at Oswald and Abigail before turning back to Harley.

"You stopped our entire operation just to say hi to another Rogue?" Joker snapped before smacking her across the face with his hand. A lump of white make up came off of her face and a patch of skin could be seen. Joker rubbed what makeup his glove had collected down his trouser leg before giving Harley his next order "now get your sorry butt back in there and start collecting the booty! Do it now before the bat and the brat get here like what happened yesterday!"

"Yes sir!" Harley whimpered as she ran back inside the building to do what she was instructed to do. Joker then clasped his hands together and a giant grin appeared on his white face.

"Penguin you old feather brain! Not seen you for a long time. And I see you got yourself a female sidekick, how sly of you," Joker teased as he approached Oswald and Abigail. Abigail flinched with fear, just wait until he found out she wasn't his sidekick and Oswald was no longer a villain. Then there could be trouble.

"Joker my friend it has been too long indeed. But I'm afraid this is just a passing by. Me and my lady friend here were just heading home," Oswald explained coolly.

"Heard you got let out yesterday. My, my Pengy you are slipping. Not a day out of prison and you haven't committed a crime," Joker said as he circled the pair.

"Well unlike your façade yesterday I have given crime up," Oswald replied.

"Right…" Joker crossed his arms completely not convinced at all.

"I am being honest."

"So she's not your sidekick?" Joker pointed towards Abigail and Oswald shook his head.

"Well looks like the jokes on me," Joker giggled.

"Not really Joker," another voice said from within the shadows behind Oswald and Abigail. Everyone turned around and there stepped out of the shadows stood Batman and Robin.

"Oh Batsy you again," Joker snarled but grinned at the same time. He then ran into the jewellery store and went to get Harley as Batman and Robin fixed their attentions on Oswald.

"I knew the temptation of crime wouldn't have kept you long," Batman began tying up poor Oswald with one of his rope gadgets "and working with Joker and Harley too, that should put you away for definite."

"Listen Batman you've got it all wrong," Oswald began but a sudden crash and a loud alarm went off from within the store turned everyone's attentions on the fleeing Joker and Harley as they both ran down the street cackling with laughter. Batman then dropped Oswald to the floor and sprinted after Harley and Joker.

"Alright Miss let's get you out of here," Robin turned his attentions to Abigail and grabbed her as he went to use his grappling hook to swing her to the other end of the street.

"No, wait!" Abigail protested as Robin was about to carry her off "Oswald didn't do anything wrong!"

"Wait he didn't?" Robin asked confused letting go of Abigail as she and Oswald shook their heads.

"That's right you pesky vigilante we were minding our own business when Harley and Joker jumped us. And then you and your bat fellow showed up and got the wrong idea yet again."

"So he's not working with Joker?" Robin asked Abigail still baffled at the situation.

"No."

Suddenly a loud bang could be heard from the next street and the sound of evil hysterical laughter soon followed. Then the sound of sirens in the background could be heard. Robin decided that Oswald was no longer a part of this and that Batman may need help taking down Joker and Harley. He began to run off but then stopped and signalled to them both.

"Stay here," Robin commanded before running around the corner of the next street.

Abigail crouched down to try and untangle Oswald from the contraption Batman had tied him up with but it was no use. Abigail knelt beside Oswald and awaited Batman and Robin to return. After several minutes of silence Oswald finally decided to break it.

"I'm so sorry about this situation my dove," Oswald finally apologised and Abigail's eyes widened a little as she began to blush.

"What did you just call me?"

Oswald would've answered if it wasn't for the reappearance of Batman and Robin dragging two babbling semi-conscious crime clowns back around the corner. Joker and Harley Quinn had been defeated but still managed to keep grins on their faces. Batman and Robin finally dropped the two criminals on the side of the road nearby Oswald and Abigail. Batman then approached Oswald and glared down at him through his mask.

"You've been caught now Penguin," Batman towered over and was about to drag him over to where Joker and Harley were now being tied up to by Robin but Abigail stepped in the way.

"Leave him alone Batman he didn't do anything wrong!" Abigail said surprisingly placing her arms around Oswald. This made his heart flutter to have someone, who had recently met, stand up for him like that.

"He wasn't working with them?" Batman asked eyes widening slightly.

"No, and you're the second vigilante to ask that question."

"How do we know that she's telling the truth?" Robin asked "for all we know she could be Penguin's new partner in crime."

"Do I look like a criminal to you kid?" Abigail asked with an arched eyebrow. The younger vigilante shrugged and smirked.

"These two will be going back to Arkham," Batman pointed towards Harley and Joker "and as for Penguin here, let him go."

"If you say so Batman," Robin replied bending down to cut Oswald free.

"I would suggest you two get out of here before the cops arrive, unless you want to spend you evening in the Gotham police department," Batman suggested as Oswald stood up from being cut free.

"We'll pass with that Batman. Come along Abigail," Oswald then grabbed Abigail's arm and continued to escort her home.

This had been a heck of a day. Could life get anymore crazier for Abigail right now? Would her life ever go back to normal?

Authors note: Alright this was a heck of a long chapter! Sorry for it being so long but I had a lot to fit in. Also I know the Joker and Harley scene was quite brief but we will be seeing more of them! Along with Two-face and the rest! Anyway in the meantime please review! I shall update soon! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5: A Batman in our belfry

Chapter 5: A Batman in our belfry

Authors note: Firstly thank you all so much for the reviews. Thank you **The Witch Dove Black** for your thoughts on how I could improve my story I have taken in some of your advice and hopefully you'll see that in this chapter. Also after reading your review **Princess Gakoshi** I listened to that song and I loved it! I can see what you mean by it resembling some of the scenes in the previous chapter. I may even be tempted to use it later on in my story. What would you say to Oswald singing that? Just an idea, if you like it tell me in the review! Thanks again everyone and enjoy!

After Batman told them to leave Oswald and Abigail continued to walk to Abigail's home. Batman and Robin had left the scene whilst the Gotham police were busy arresting Joker and Harley. And even though they were being taken back to Arkham everyone still knew that they would escape again. It was only a matter of time. And besides Batman and Robin wouldn't have a break considering Poison Ivy and Two-face were still at large. But that didn't concern Oswald anymore for he was a reformed man now. And he wouldn't go back to crime now because he finally found someone who could change his ways for good. Or could she?

"Well," Abigail began as she and Oswald turned the next street after their unexpected run in with Joker, Harley, Batman and Robin. "That was different."

"I am sorry you had to witness that," Oswald apologised "you could say that me and Joker were once acquaintances."

"Why should you be sorry?" Abigail asked "you didn't know Joker and Harley were in the middle of a heist. In all truth that is the first and hopefully the last time I see them face to face."

"Yes I noticed your reaction to seeing them, do they scare you?"

"Well wouldn't you be scared after hearing what they have done to so many people?" Oswald shrugged in response.

"Perhaps, but yet again I am also a well known Rogue. I too have put the fear into a lot of people's lives in the past too."

"But even you had a limit," Abigail replied truthfully "I didn't see you buying a huge nuclear bomb to blow up all of Gotham. As I recall Joker almost accomplished that, and if it wasn't for Batman we wouldn't be here right now."

"True, but still," Oswald frowned "people still get put off by me and my reputation let alone my appearance."

"I don't." Abigail smiled sweetly as she and Oswald kept their gazes on each other as they continued to walk down the dark street. Oswald was blushing again, more so than usual. Even though the evening hadn't gone completely according to his plans he still was glad to be in her company. But his mind was currently all over the place. He hadn't known her for a day and all of a sudden he was full of different emotions. It would give him something to ponder on when he got home.

"Uh… so did you enjoy this evening? Despite our run in with the crime clowns of course," Oswald enquired stumbling a little from loss of words. He felt his heart rate increase and his temperature rise slightly as Abigail continued to grin at him.

"Why yes I did. More than I thought anyway," Abigail replied noticing she was receiving a funny look from Oswald "with the thoughts about my job and all that I feared I wouldn't have a good evening. But I am glad I did."

"So am I my dear," Oswald held his head high as the two walked in a comfortable silence with smiles on their faces. It wasn't until Abigail's soft voice broke the silence that he turned his attention back to her.

"By the way Ozzy, I was planning on taking Claw to the park tomorrow to let him have a fly around. Would you like to join us?"

"M-me?" Oswald stuttered dumbfounded.

"Yes you silly!" Abigail exclaimed punching his shoulder teasingly.

"I would be delighted!" Oswald grinned.

"Wonderful," Abigail clasped her hands "you can help me give Claw his training exercises if you would like? As I know you are also a brilliant bird trainer."

"It depends what you have in mind," Oswald replied "just as long as it isn't anything too complicated."

"Oh nothing too drastic I can assure you," Abigail explained "its nothing like my fire hoop tricks I teach the birds to achieve at the zoo. Now that takes months of dedication and patience."

"You must show me some of your tricks Miss Nighting," Oswald said with a hint of amazement in his voice.

"I will tomorrow I promise."

…

Once back at Abigail's apartment door she and Oswald said their goodbyes. And after a final discussion about the nights events the two decided to call it a night and depart.

"Thank you for the wonderful dinner Oswald," Abigail smiled as she opened her door.

"Always a pleasure Abigail my dear," Oswald bowed slightly taking his hat off with the gesture "I look forward to our outing tomorrow."

"I wouldn't call a walk in the park an outing really. But I look forward to it all the same," Abigail said as she stepped inside the door. "Well goodnight Oswald."

Oswald bowed again and placed his hat on his head proudly. He then did the unexpected when he grabbed Abigail's hand with his flipper like hand and kissed it lightly. Abigail pulled her hand back eyes widened and mouth slightly agape. She felt colour rush to her cheeks as did he. Oswald looked up dreamingly as he went back to his normal height, he couldn't believe what he had just done but Abigail had no objection to it. That was a good sign.

"Goodnight Abigail."

Abigail went to close her door as Oswald turned away and made his way down the corridor of her apartment building when she finally realized something she forgot to say. It was something she would've said if it wasn't for that psychotic jester girl jumping her in the street. She opened her door a little and called out to Oswald, he immediately turned around just as he made his way to the elevator.

"And Oswald," Abigail began "as for that question you asked, my favourite bird is a Nightingale."

Oswald smiled and bowed slightly before departing into the elevator door which had just opened for him. Abigail watched him leave before shutting her apartment door entirely. She grinned and sighed contentedly as she switched the lights on.

"I'm back Claw," Abigail said as she turned around. She almost jumped in shock when she saw someone standing in the dark corner of the room. She backed against the door as the shadowed figure stepped into the light. Abigail was stunned to see a dark hooded figure step into the light. It was none other than… the Batman.

"Don't be alarmed Miss Nighting I won't harm you," Batman said calmly watching as Abigail still pinned herself to the door. When she finally relaxed she let go of the door she held onto for dear life and walked over to a nearby table to turn the small lamp on.

"Oh you again," Abigail sighed "Joker and Harley back in Arkham?"

"Yes," Batman replied "but that is not what I came for. I came to know why you of all people are going around with the Penguin."

"I think you may find that the Penguin is no more. Oswald Cobblepot is a reformed man, haven't you seen the news?" Abigail asked calmly as she headed to the kitchen to find something for her bird to eat. Batman followed.

"Yes I have seen it, but that does not mean for one second that he is truly reformed. I know him and all of the criminals too well to know that they cannot be trusted."

"Listen Batman Oswald may have been a ruthless Rogue back in his day but I truly believe he has changed. He seems different."

"And how would you know of his behaviour?" Batman enquired "he's playing you on and when he's fed up with you he'll discard you without a second thought."

"Then how do you explain his actions? He saved me the other night from two brutes who tried to kill me and take my bird. Don't you call that heroic?" Abigail asked sounding determined as ever to defend Oswald against these accusations made by Batman.

"No," Batman said coolly "he's only using you for his sick schemes."

"You're wrong Batman. We're not talking about a Joker and Harley love-hate relationship here. He truly cares for me, we have so much in common and all he wants is respect. I am giving him that respect and he's truly becoming the closest friend I could ever have. Now I know you're only trying to make sure I am safe and away from criminals Batman but don't bother. Oswald Cobblepot is completely clean, he is giving up his criminal name for the chance to lead a normal life and while no one, including you, aren't taking him seriously I decided to step in and give him a chance. For all of these years we have feared the Penguin when really we should pity him."

"So is that it?" Batman's eyebrows raised under his mask as Abigail placed a small pile of raw meat on a dish for Claw to eat on the table "you are dating him out of pity?"

"I wouldn't call it dating," Abigail jumped in "we're just good friends."

"That's not how I see it," Batman replied as he made his way over to the open window, obviously how he came in. "But I would be cautious if I were you. Oswald Cobblepot is a dangerous man, don't go double crossing him or else your fate could be similar to the others he has crossed. And those didn't end well." And with that Batman was gone.

Abigail brought Claw's food nearby his perch and sat down on her chair as the bird devoured the raw meat. She had a lost look about her eyes. The Batman had just implied that her relationship with Oswald Cobblepot was more than friendship. Was he serious? But at the same time in a way (even though she wouldn't admit it aloud) he was right. She had been close to Oswald ever since they had met. He was so kind and gentle to her like no other man had ever been to her in her entire life. Sure he may be a short, fat and deformed man but Abigail was prepared to look past that. She never judged people on their looks anyway because she knew that she herself wasn't the most attractive woman in Gotham anyway. She was more of a nice personality kind of person than look wise. And Oswald Cobblepot had the most intriguing personality she wished to know more about. But it couldn't be love could it? They practically just met yet she was already considering the possibility. She had gotten to know him quite well over the past two days and already she was fond of him. But she wasn't prepared to say she was in love. But if Batman had noticed a spark between the pair, so could anyone else. And for some strange unknown reason this frightened her.

"I'm falling in too deep here Claw," Abigail said stroking her buzzard's head while he tore up the bits of meat on the plate "two nights ago I was just your average Gotham citizen, but ever since I met him my life has changed. Now I'm being bombarded by criminals and vigilantes and now I think I'm actually caring for someone deeply. What is going on?"

And although it was unknown to Abigail at the time, Oswald was currently going through the same thoughts in his head. But his mind was more or less made up unlike hers. But it never took Oswald long to make up his mind, not even when he was a criminal.

…

After a short walk back to his apartment Oswald's mind was constantly running over the same thoughts in his mind. It all concerned his thoughts on Abigail. Even though he had just met her the other night he already knew that she was now a big part of his life. Perhaps it was fate that they had met like that. Although he had first seen her being knocked semi-conscious by that brutish man. How he wished he had shot him with his umbrella gun there and then, but that would've made him as bad as them. And he no longer wished to be a criminal, and if he did he probably would've helped Joker and Harley escape Batman. Instead he found himself tied up (surprise, surprise) by Batman despite the fact he hadn't done anything wrong. But even if Batman hadn't showed he wouldn't have helped Joker anyway, also if Joker laid one finger on his beloved Abigail there would've been hell to pay. Wait, did he just say beloved? But in all truth he knew that she and he were extremely close.

She was no Veronica Vreeland. He saw it in her eyes, the way she was around him, and the way she smiled. All that time he went out with Veronica he had been played for a fool. She was only going out with him for a laugh and all that time she hated their outings. Now he reminisced about it, he knew how her face forced a smile then grimaced every time he turned away. She thought he hadn't noticed, but deep down he knew she was embarrassed by him. But with Abigail it was different. She hardly cared what other people thought, just as long as he was himself and didn't pretend to be someone he wasn't she wasn't ashamed to be with him.

Had Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot finally found that special someone? Could he be… in love?

Oswald shut his apartment door and turned the light on as he entered the room. He took off his hat and placed his umbrella on the stand along with the others. After that he went into his small kitchen and made himself a cup of tea before sitting down on his sofa. He drank his tea slowly whilst continuing to ponder through these thoughts. A frown came to his face when the subject of love came to his mind; it hadn't been good to him in the past. Several times in his life he had claimed himself to be in love with a woman but the feeling wasn't mutual. His first love, a high school crush on a girl he had, made a complete fool out of him when he admitted it to her. That was his first disaster. The other was a woman who worked for his parents on the Cobblepot manor grounds and although she seemed a pleasant person, she was secretly leading a double life. And poor Oswald was heartbroken when he realized she was in fact married to a young attractive business man. And finally, Veronica Vreeland. The woman whom he had thought wanted to get to know him when really she only planned on using him for her stupid party. And he hadn't realized he was being played for a fool until he heard her and that Pierce man talking about it that very night. But he knew that this time around it could be different. Abigail was a nice woman, with mutual interests and a personality similar to his own. But he couldn't deny the fact that he had been hurt in the past but perhaps it was time to move on in life as well as giving up crime.

Picking up the remote control Oswald turned on his TV to see if anything interesting was on. And yet again the news was showing the other Rogues of Gotham up to their own mischief. Summer Gleason was in the studio reporting the news of Joker and Harley's capture while a video was showing the pair robbing the Gotham central bank the night before.

"After their short but profitable crime spree, Joker and Harley Quinn have been taken down thanks to Gotham PD and the Batman. They were caught earlier this evening whilst attempting to rob a jewellery store and after being captured by Batman and the police they were taken back to Arkham Asylum where it is hoped they will stay there while the police focus their attentions on capturing Poison Ivy and Two-face."

"Thank goodness I didn't make that headline," Oswald muttered knowing that he and Abigail were there at the scene when Batman took down the crime clowns. He was hoping that they wouldn't be in the report and luckily enough he had managed to avoid it. Oswald finally decided he had seen enough news reports and turned his TV off; he then waddled over to the window to open it. After letting some air in he turned around to go and sit down to read a book but as he walked back to his chair a shadowed figure crept up behind him. He stopped and looked down; he automatically knew who it was. He recognised that shadow anywhere.

"Batman, why don't you make yourself at home?" Oswald grumbled not even turning around to face the masked vigilante.

"Loose the act Cobblepot I'm on to you," Batman said with an extremely serious yet threatening tone.

"What act?" Oswald asked now turning around to face Batman. He wore a strange bewildered look on his face as he glanced up at the glaring vigilante.

"Using that woman like that, it's a worthy scheme for a sick criminal like yourself," Batman replied not loosing his tone for a second. Oswald's eyes widened in shock, he still didn't believe him did he?

"Correction Batman, the lady is my dearest and kindest friend. I am not using her in the slightest, don't you get it already? I've changed!"

"She seems to think that. You're playing her for a sap and sooner or later you'll hurt her and ditch her without a second thought. I know you criminal types, you pray on the weak for your own sick games," Batman exclaimed as Oswald simply took his monocle out of his eye to clean it. He then looked up at Batman with sincere eyes and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Firstly, I would rather die than hurt her feelings. Secondly, I would never ditch her as she has changed my life so much these past few days, and thirdly. Thirdly tell that to the criminals who tried to kill her!"

"Yes she told me about that," Batman began "what were you trying to prove? That you were a hero?"

"No," Oswald replied "I knew that she couldn't defend herself after being knocked semi-conscious by that ghastly man so I took it upon myself to defend her. And since you weren't around to save her, I decided to do the honour."

"So you could use her?"

"Batman," Oswald sighed rubbing his temples anxiously "when will you get it into your head? I really care for Miss Nighting, she's like no other woman I have met in my life and she is one of the few women out there who would like to get to know the real me. Not the criminal me, the real Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. Now stop going around asking questions and prying into affairs that don't concern you. I don't intend to use her for any sick schemes because one, I am not a criminal anymore. Two, I would have no use for her even if I were a criminal. And three…" Oswald stopped speaking and looked to the floor awkwardly Batman's eyebrows arched suspiciously.

"And?"

"I think I love her." Oswald finished.

"I see," was Batman's only reply. He had no other words to say. Perhaps his reform wasn't exaggerated after all. Perhaps this time for definite Oswald Cobblepot was truly reformed. Batman surely had his suspicions before but that was before the Penguin actually admitted to him something he never expected from a criminal before. Never before had anyone, not even the more gentle of Rogues let their feelings out like this. And the Penguin was considered one of the more dangerous of Rogues back in his day. But now he was claiming to be in love with an ordinary woman whom Batman had assumed, had no criminal record of any kind.

"So is there anything else you wish to accuse me of? Any conspiracies with Two-face by any chance? Or why don't you check my apartment for plant toxins and say I'm in cahoots with Poison Ivy?" Oswald snapped slightly obviously getting frustrated by Batman's sudden interest with everything he did. Batman shook his head slowly but Oswald still decided to use sarcasm "no really why don't you check? I'm sure you'll find some kind of toxin to analyze back at your cave. Hey look I found one! Want to arrest me now?" Oswald exclaimed waving a can of rat poison in Batman's face. Batman simply groaned and rushed back over to the window.

"If you claim to be clean Penguin I guess I'll just have to believe you. But let me suggest one thing to you."

"Keep away from crime I know," Oswald replied already predicting what he was going to say.

"No, actually I was going to say," Batman began with a serious frown but it suddenly turned into a small smile "If you do claim to be in love with her and the feeling is mutual, I would suggest buying her something nice. And keep away from crime of course."

"Thank you Batman," Oswald said calmly. Batman nodded in reply before departing out of the window and flew away using his grappling hook. Oswald decided to open up the balcony and look out at Gotham city. It was late and the night life was just kicking into gear. Oswald couldn't help but grin, finally the Batman was off of his case! But… Oh stupid him! He had just admitted his secret feelings to the masked vigilante. What a stupid thing to do!

"Well I guess there's no hiding it now," Oswald said resting his hand on the stone balcony frame. He sighed and frowned as he rested his head on his flippers as he continued to gaze out at the city, but soon that frown turned into a smug yet dreamy grin he couldn't hide his feelings anymore. Especially after telling his once greatest enemy. He finally decided to admit it to himself aloud "I'm in love with Abigail Nighting."

…

Below the block of apartments where the once Penguin now lived, Batman landed on the pavement in the corner of the alleyway and placed his grappling hook back in his cape. He then looked up and glanced out of the corner of his eye. There was a parked car at the other alleyway, and not just any car. His batmobile. He made his way over to it and as he was about three metres away when the top opened up and another person was revealed to be inside.

"Did you get that?" Batman enquired as he leapt into the batmobile and the roof closed again.

"Yep, every word," Robin replied fiddling around with a small device in his hands "man these two way speaker things are awesome."

"Remind me to thank the Riddler for them next time we go to Arkham," Batman then swiftly change the subject back around to its original purpose "what's your opinion on the Penguin's sudden change of heart?"

"The Batman asking my advice?" Robin joked "I'm not too sure to be honest. We barely know anything about this woman he's dating. Who knows she could be another Veronica Vreeland!"

"That's what I'm afraid of," Batman replied before switching the bat computer on "computer, run through Gotham's database and find whatever information you can on Abigail Nighting."

"Searching…" the computer relayed then showing a picture of Abigail on the screen with a bunch of random information about her "Abigail Nighting, title: Miss. Born in Gotham city. Profession: bird trainer for Gotham zoo. Mostly known for her show 'Nightingale and Claw'. No criminal records shown."

"So what do you recon Batman?" Robin asked curiously "think Penguin's really in love?"

"I hate to say this Robin, but I think he's telling the truth. It wasn't just what he said, but the way he said it. His face was so sincere, as was hers when I spoke to her. I recon than we have a pair of birds who are pairing up quite nicely. Only thing is, I have a bad feeling about this." Batman admitted turning the computer screen off.

"What do you think she'll break his heart or something and drive him to crime?" Robin's eyes arched slightly. Batman shook his head in response.

"I don't think she's the kind of woman to do that Robin. But I have a gut feeling that something will go wrong."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, but I feel the outcome of their relationship will not end well."

Authors note: Oh Batman stop sticking your nose into things you shouldn't! Anyway how did you like that? The secret is out! Well for Oswald anyway, Abigail is taking a little longer to admit she has feelings for our little Penguin. Also if you're confused about that two way speaker reference it's from the episode 'Riddler's reform' when Riddler uses them. Next chapter Abigail will be showing Oswald some of her tricks and meanwhile some crafty thugs will be plotting something evil. Also shortly a little scene from Oswald's childhood will be shown which will include a little Bruce Wayne. But I am unsure where I shall put that yet, but I promise it shall be in a chapter later on. Anyway in the meantime please review and tell me your thoughts and I promise soon I shall update! Thanks!


	6. Chapter 6: Life is no walk in the park

Chapter 6: Life is no walk in the park

Authors note: Well here's the next chapter! Thanks a bunch for the reviews yet again! Two-face makes a brief appearance in this chapter but this isn't the only time we'll see him. In this chapter it will mainly be based around Oswald and Abigail getting closer. Though they will not admit their feelings yet, I have the perfect moment for that later on. In the meantime I hope you like it! Enjoy!

Oswald awoke bright and early and already he was preparing something. He had decided to go out around 9 o'clock in the morning to go run a little errand. Batman had given him a brilliant idea after their little chat last night, and Oswald was prepared to put it to the test. Walking along the already busy streets of Gotham city the short penguin like man stood outside a humble jewellery store gazing in at the fine quality jewellery that was being displayed in the window. Oswald had picked this one in particular for two reasons, one: this was one of the few jewellery stores he hadn't stolen from in the past, and two: they were well known for selling fine broaches. Just the thing Oswald Cobblepot was looking for.

"_If you do claim to be in love with her and the feeling is mutual, I would suggest buying her something nice. And keep away from crime of course." _Batman's voice continued to ring out through Oswald's head. He smiled and took a deep breath before entering the shop boldly.

"I'll be with you in a moment," a female voice behind the counter called out. Oswald noticed the person was bending down picking something up and obviously heard the bell on the door go as he entered.

"No need to rush Miss I am just merely browsing," Oswald said as he made his way over to the cabinet that displayed the broaches. He peered in and adjusted his monocle as he browsed, he continued to do so until he realized the girl behind the counter was towering over him.

"So, how can I help ya?" The girl chirped leaning on the glass casually. Oswald looked up at the girl and noticed she was fair young, a teenager. She had her red hair neatly pinned back and she wore a pretty dress which had the shops name on it, it was obviously the standard uniform for the establishment.

"I am looking for a gold broach," Oswald stated "I was hoping for it to be in the shape of a bird."

"Any particular bird by any chance?" The girl asked slipping out a pen and a notebook to write down something.

"A nightingale," Oswald replied quickly and the girl tapped her pen on her chin in thought.

"I'm not sure if my parents are that specific with what broaches they make… wait here and I'll check," the girl then went out of the door behind the counter that led to the back of the shop. Oswald stood patiently fiddling with his umbrella to pass the time. Several minutes later the girl came back clutching a small box in her hands smiling as she placed it on the counter.

"You're in luck, obviously they do make specific things like this after all," the girl then opened it up as Oswald examined it "my folks are out of town for the week and expect me to run the shop. Bit hard to run a shop and socialize with my friends at the same time wouldn't ya say?"

"What type of gold is this?" Oswald asked changing the subject quickly. He had no interest in this girl's social life at all, only on the quality of the item itself.

"Eighteen-carrot I think, don't quote me on it though," the girl replied. Oswald shrugged and then slipped out his wallet.

"I'll take it," Oswald said "how much is it?"

"For you Sir, $50," the girl grinned her eyes then shifted and went narrow. "Say don't I know you from somewhere?"

"Perhaps," Oswald inwardly grimaced she had obviously seen him on the news when he went about his crime sprees "I've been on the news from time to time."

"Oh I know!" The girl exclaimed "you're that bird guy. The one Batman fights, Penguin right?"

"Was the Penguin," Oswald muttered "I've reformed since then."

"Tell me," the girl placed the box down on the counter after taking the money from Oswald and put it away. She looked dreamily at Oswald but her gaze wasn't directly at him, more distant "have you ever fought Robin before?"

"Frequently," Oswald shuddered as the girl continued to pester him in curiosity.

"What's he like?"

"Quick, snide, sarcastic, cheeky, and a pest why?"

"Oh I think he's a hunk," the girl grinned dreamily and Oswald smirked.

"Yes many young girls like yourself would have a thing for either Batman or Robin, but I on the other hand like the other Rogues had a thing for killing them."

"So who's the broach for? Someone special?" The girl stood up changing the subject slightly. Oswald placed the box inside his pocket and smiled softly.

"For a friend."

"Girlfriend?"

"Well she is a lady," Oswald then turned away now finding himself in a similar trance to what the girl was like moments before "A beautiful, caring, gentle young lady."

"You've _so_ got a thing for her," the girl smirked mischievously.

"Yes I may have," Oswald blushed a little. The girl sniggered behind the counter in amusement much to Oswald's displeasure.

"Well good luck with trying to win her," She then whispered aloud (a little too loud) "you're gonna need it, who'd wanna date a freak like you?"

Oswald couldn't help but fume at the girl; she seemed nice to him until she decided to say her thoughts about him out loud. He was no doubt offended by her, but he knew deep down she was right. Who would want to have any kind of relationship with him? He was a fat and ugly bird man with a beak and flippers. He didn't deserve a woman, not even one as kind and gentle as Abigail. What was the point in trying to woe someone like her when she could do so much better than him? She was out of his league.

"Thank you young lady," Oswald grumbled through gritted teeth as he opened the shop door to leave "and good day to you."

…

"Ok then Claw ready for your day at the park?"

Abigail had been up for over an hour and already she was ready to go. She knew that she wasn't needed at work today as it was the day off so on her days off she usually took her bird up to the park to fly around freely. It was a must for bird handlers like herself to let her bird roam around of his own free will. But as well as letting him fly around she decided to re-train him some old tricks she could use for her show. Speaking of which…

Suddenly the phone rang just as Abigail packed her bag full of belongings and headed towards her bird perch so she could pick him up and go. But her journey was cut short and instead of heading for the door she headed over to her phone and picked it up.

"Yes hello?" Abigail asked holding the phone to her right ear.

"Miss Nighting?" The voice on the other end replied, it was a mans voice.

"Yes who's asking?"

"It's Mr Collins from Gotham zoo, you remember me don't you?" Abigail couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. It was Mr Collins not Mr Hail; she could handle anyone but him.

"Oh yes how could I forget, you're head of the media and production department are you not?"

"Yes I am indeed Miss Nighting, now I am calling about your show 'Nightingale and Claw'," Mr Collins replied on the other end. Abigail cringed; if Mr Hail had got this person to do his dirty work for him he would be shallower than she already thought of him. But Mr Collins wasn't a member of the board of directors; actually he was the head of advertising the zoo and organised the media implications on the wildlife etc. But why was he calling her of all people?

"What about it? Listen if Mr Hail has cancelled it I would like to request a meeting with him immediately and-"

"Oh no, no Miss Nighting!" Mr Collins cut her off with a hint of excitement in his voice "I assure you Mr Hail has nothing to do with this at all. I am merely calling to tell you that the media have taken an interest in your show!"

"Excuse me?" Abigail asked almost dropping the phone in shock.

"The Gotham Gazette and the Gotham general news would both like to do a report of your next show; there will be a TV camera and several reporters attending the event to watch your show! I thought I'd be the first to congratulate you. You're about to become a famous girl Miss Nighting, or should I say Nightingale!"

"You're being serious?" Abigail gasped.

"Entirely, I would loose my job if I lied about something this huge."

"Gosh," Abigail grinned with excitement "thank you Mr Collins!"

"You're welcome Miss Nighting, but I would advise that you prepare the best acts with your birds. Wow the crowd as it were. Plus you'll want to impress the reporters won't you?" Mr Collins asked but before Abigail could reply Mr Collins spoke again "oh I'm sorry Miss Nighting I have another call coming through, congratulations once again!"

"Goodbye Mr Collins and thank you!" Abigail then put the phone down trying to contain the excitement that was bubbling inside her. Claw flew over to her and perched on the table glancing up at his owner with curious eyes. Abigail let him climb onto her arm and she then swirled him around in happiness.

"Things are looking up Claw! We're going to be famous! And this isn't some little report on the TV this time, this time we're really going to make it!" Abigail then picked up an envelope nearby the phone and flapped it in front of Claw. She then whispered to her bird and to herself "and I don't intend to impress just the media."

…

Meanwhile whilst watching the TV Oswald was getting ready for his outing with Abigail. For a change they had agreed that she would pick him up at his apartment and somehow Oswald felt the urge to have a tidy around in his apartment as a chance to impress his lady friend. Not that it needed tidying. He had only been out of prison for two days, and not even he could make a big mess in that short of time span. After tidying around a little he made sure everything he was going to take with him was ready when he left.

"Ok so I have my gift for Abigail, some money in case I need it and my umbrella in case it rains among other things," Oswald rushed around muttering aimlessly to himself. He glanced at the clock, 11 o'clock; Abigail was due any time now and somehow he just didn't seem ready. He wasn't really watching the TV; it was on more for background. It was just a reality TV show where people reveal their personal problems to the world as a chance to get famous. Oswald didn't generally watch that, but right now he was too nervous to do anything. He really wanted to impress her.

And it wasn't until a sudden yet expected knock at the door jolted Oswald in a full scale panic. He rushed around his apartment like a headless chicken making sure everything was in the right place before finally going over to answer the door.

"Hang on I'm coming!" Oswald then grabbed the door handle and opened it, there revealed to him was a bright and cheerful, and stunningly beautiful (in his mind of course) Abigail Nighting with her buzzard perched on her shoulder.

"Hello Oswald," Abigail chirped as Oswald signalled her to come in. "Nice place you have here."

"Why thank you Miss Nighting, I pride myself in my home. And you now see why I said we have such similar tastes in décor," Oswald pointed at various bird related items in his living room. Abigail glanced around and nodded.

"Indeed you are right, you really do like penguins don't you?"

"They are fascinating birds don't you agree?" Oswald asked hopefully.

"Oh yes, I always loved penguins! Lovely birds," Abigail grinned at Oswald and he blushed a little knowing that she wasn't just commenting on the birds.

"Oh forgive me Abigail I must attend to something in my bedroom, I won't be a moment," Oswald said "and then we can go if you would like?"

"That will be great," Abigail smiled as Oswald rushed off into the other room. She then decided to sit down and await his return. The TV was still turned on but a sudden interference on the channel got her attention when it soon revealed to be a well known cause… a criminal. And not just any criminal. Gotham's second most feared Rogue's… Two-face.

"Hello Gotham PD, this message is for you," Two-face began as the screen fuzzed onto his face. Two-face glared into the camera his assistant was holding and was pointing a gun at someone, but it didn't show who.

Abigail tensed up as she saw Two-face on the screen, there was something about him that scared her. Joker seemed less scary to her than Two-face and Joker was Gotham's most feared Rogue! She figured it was the scars he bore from that incident he had with Rupert Thorne all of those years ago when half of his face was struck by acid causing his split-personality to go on a terrorising rampage into the insane. There was something about him that put the fear of God into Abigail, whether it be his gruff voice or his scars or even his judgements on life or death. This was one Rogue she would never like to meet!

"I have your loyal Detective Harvey Bullock Commissioner Gordon, and if you do not pay my ransom demand, I will use my judgement method," Two-face then shoved his coin in front of the camera and flipped it from side to side revealing the bad side and the good side. The camera then panned out to Harvey Bullock tied up against a large stone barrier, beaten and half conscious he didn't look like he could put up a fight physically or even verbally.

"I am ready to go Abigail," Oswald came back into the room oblivious to what was happening on the television. When he saw the image of Two-face he went quiet, then he noticed Abigail. Hurled up in his chair in a scared like manner. She was covering herself with her arms whilst looking down at the floor. Oswald approached her as Two-face continued to speak.

"You hear me Gordon? Either I get that ransom soon or the Detective's history! But look on the bright side; you can always get the Batman to take his place, we all know how you like him so much. And don't bother trying to trace this video; it is broadcasted from a discrete location. I'll give further instruction when I know you'll cooperate." And with that, Two-face's image disappeared.

Abigail sat silently as Oswald came up behind her; he made her jump when he placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and gasped in shock when he surprised her, after realizing who it was she relaxed. Only a little bit anyway.

"Is something wrong?" Oswald enquired concern evident on his features.

"I don't know, there's just something about Two-face that gives me the creeps," Abigail explained "who would've thought such a kind and sweet man like Harvey Dent would take the decent into complete utter madness?"

"We all choose our paths," Oswald replied "I guess he was pushed into that madness that drove him over the edge. And like Joker, he is scarred for life and there is no going back for them."

"Unlike you," Abigail smiled weakly "you've reformed and changed your life around for the better."

"I have you to thank for that," Oswald grinned placing his hands on her shoulders guiding her to stand up "now why don't we leave and stop thinking these dreary thoughts?"

"Do you think he'll be alright?" Abigail asked as she stood up "Harvey Bullock I mean. I never liked the guy but I wouldn't like to see any harm come to him."

"Judging on past experiences," Oswald began as they made their way out of the door "I am positively sure that Batman will go and save the day, as usual."

…

Gotham Park was always a busy place. Always full of wild playful children and their parents running around after them frantically. Or it was just a place for ordinary people to relax and go for a nice stroll. It was a popular place for dog walkers, skateboarders and even couples of all age ranges. But it was rare you saw a woman flying an un-native bird in Gotham Park, accompanied by the Penguin of all people. But the majority of people who had seen the pair chose to either leave the park or just simply ignore the ex-criminal. It wasn't Abigail that frightened them, just Oswald. His reputation had that effect on the general public.

"Alright Claw I know how eager you are to take to the skies so go on," Abigail urged her bird who was perched on her arm. She watched him take off and circle above her and Oswald, as they continued to walk around a quieter area of the park, away from the children's play area that is.

"Do you come here often?" Oswald enquired. Abigail nodded and looked up to the sky where her bird was squawking contentedly, she grinned to see her bird as happy as she was.

"Every week when I get a day off," Abigail smiled.

"You seem happy today my dear, may I pry into it and ask you what has made you so cheerful?" Abigail then stopped soon followed by a curious Oswald, he watched as she sat down on the grass and pointed to an empty spot next to her signalling him to sit down with her and he soon did as he was instructed to do.

"Oh Oswald," Abigail began grinning like a maniac "you would not believe how happy I am right now! Here was me thinking my job was going to be lost, but now I think I'm about to have that big break I have been searching for."

"And what is that?"

"My colleague called up this morning before I left and told me that two media companies had an interest in my show. They are sending reporters and a camera to film my show!"

"Oh Abigail that is wonderful!" Oswald exclaimed placing an encouraging hand on her shoulder. To his surprise she took his hand and placed it in her own, she gazed up at him with sweet yet excited eyes and he lost track of what he was doing right there and then.

"I know, and to enlighten the moment I brought you something," Abigail smiled and Oswald then remembered something himself. He had brought her a gift! And he had forgotten until now to give it to her.

"How uncanny," Oswald smirked placing a flipper into his jacket "I have brought you something too."

"Me?" Abigail stuttered "why?"

"Abigail," Oswald began taking in a deep breath before continuing "you have been a caring and generous friend ever since I met you that night. You have changed me in more ways than you know and have been the only woman in my entire life who has wanted to get close to me. I thought I was alone with my fascination with birds until I met you, and you have made me feel like a normal human being again. I want to give you this to symbolize what we have together," Oswald then opened the small box to reveal his gift to her. Abigail felt her eyes widen and her mouth dropped as she gasped in a pleasant surprise. As the box opened it revealed a little gold item inside and it wasn't just anything, it was a bird shaped broach. As she examined the gift she recognised the bird to be a nightingale. She clasped a hand to her mouth and it took her a few moments to speak, but instead of accepting the gift as Oswald expected she did something else…

"Oswald," Abigail began placing her hands in his to shut the box his eyes widened in surprise as she looked down with a guilty complexion. "I cannot accept this."

"Why ever not?" Oswald asked looking deeply at Abigail. She glanced up at him sorrowfully as she spoke.

"You speak as if I have been the light in your life these past few days when really I have been nothing but a burden. You have done nothing but save me these past few days. From those brutes, Joker and Harley and even Batman of all people. But the question is, when will you let someone rescue you? I am not anything special; you speak as if I were an angel when really all you look at is a simple Gotham citizen trying to make her own way in life. I am not rich; by heck I am barely famous! And I do not wish to be a burden on you anymore. But I do not wish to be parted from you, you have been a kind friend to me and I would love nothing more than to get to know you better. But I cannot accept an expensive gift like this; it's just not in my nature."

"You are a light in my life Abigail!" Oswald said determinedly "you have been the reason for me to be a normal citizen again, I took up a life of crime for several reasons but one of those has always been to get some respect I could never get as just Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot. The only way I could get people to respect me was over fear, not love, just fear. Well I have had it with being feared! It doesn't get me any respect, just hate. But you are the only one who truly respects me for who I am. And I have gratefully appreciated that over the past few days. You have never been a burden to me! And if it is any consolation this wasn't that expensive. I wish you to have it and I will not take no for an answer!"

"You are adorable when you go all sincere like that," Abigail smirked mischievously "if it means that much to you I will accept it, but I don't expect these kinds of things on a daily basis."

"U-um thank you Abigail," Oswald blushed then handing her the box after putting it on she glanced down proudly at the broach before looking up again. She grinned at Oswald and he did the same back that was until she did the unexpected. In a flash Oswald noticed her place her arms around him. Was she in fact… hugging him? It seemed so. How unexpected, how inappropriate, how… wonderful.

"No," Abigail whispered into his ear "thank you Oswald Cobblepot."

"Well, naturally, I was glad to have brought it you. Um what did you say you brought me again?" Oswald stuttered blushing madly as Abigail kissed his cheek and then went back to sitting beside him. She was having fun teasing him like this, she was right. He was adorable when he was flustered. But she couldn't help but feel her heart flutter. She was sensing some romantic tension in the air. Really? Romantic? They were just friends! Weren't they? But to be honest Abigail didn't know right now, she would admit she had feelings for the man, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Instead she was using her own ways to tease and flirt with him. What on Earth did she think she was doing? This was putting not only him into an awkward situation but her too, and as soon as she got her head around what she was doing things would turn tense very fast!

"Oh it's nothing compared to what you have given me," Abigail said a bit glumly reaching into her bag to pick out an envelope "as a matter of fact I feel a little guilty because I didn't buy you anything special."

"What is it?" Oswald asked as Abigail placed it in his hands. He began to open it up carefully and picked out a slip of paper that was inside, he adjusted his monocle and read the slip of paper carefully as Abigail explained what it was.

"Oh it's a ticket to my next show. You claimed to show such a keen interest in what I do so I decided to let you see first hand on the tricks I perform. Firstly I cannot give out free tickets so I had to buy it myself to humour Mr Hail, but look on the bright side you have the front row! Just as long as you don't mind birds swooping in on you as all, do you?"

"Are you kidding?" Oswald chuckled "I handle that every other day, trust me my dear I am more than used to birds flying over my head at close range."

"Oh good," Abigail smiled then pointing to the ticket "I told you it wasn't much, but it was the best I could do in such short notice."

"Don't fret my dear I am sure I will love it. Thank you!"

"Um excuse me Miss?" A small innocent voice came from behind. Oswald and Abigail both turned around to see a small child looking sadly towards them as he tried to get her attention. Abigail smiled gently at the child and answered.

"Yes?"

"Me and my friend were playing Frisbee and it got stuck in that tree," the boy then pointed up at a nearby tree "my mum isn't around so could you get it for me please?"

"I'm not sure if I can reach," Abigail said still looking up at the tree whilst covering her eyes from the sun. The boy frowned even more so Abigail decided to humour him. "But I know someone who can."

"Really who?" The boy asked eagerly. Abigail then let out what sounded like a bird call and almost instantly Claw came to her side. The boy backed away as the buzzard approached and perched himself on Abigail's shoulder, she pointed up at the tree before speaking.

"Claw, fetch," the bird didn't need to be told twice as he swooped up to retrieve the Frisbee with his talons. He then flew back down and let Abigail take the Frisbee from his talons before flying back into the sky to continue circling. The boy, obviously stunned by what he had saw, called his friend over to witness what had just happened and Abigail stood up to give the Frisbee back to the boys. "Here you go."

"That was awesome!" The boy cheered "how did you do that?"

"Years of training kid, and a lot of patience," Abigail winked and the boys friend gasped a little.

"I know you, you're the Nightingale!"

"Sure am," Abigail smirked.

"Wow can you sign our Frisbee?" The boys asked much to her surprise but she decided to do as they asked, after all these were a few of her _'so called'_ adoring fans. Oswald watched the scene silently; he too was amazed by how she had trained her bird to retrieve things like that. He had done similar things in the past but usually it ended differently and his birds would on occasion try and peck him if he grew impatient, which happened frequently with the henchmen he hired. It wasn't until the boy's friend stared at him in such a way that it unnerved him. He didn't recognise him too did he? Well he soon found out as the children began to walk away.

"Hey did you recognise the fat man with her?" The one boy asked the other quite loudly.

"Nope, did you?"

"Don't you read the papers? That's the Penguin!"

"No way," the other boy said as they both turned around to look at Oswald again. As soon as they realized who they had just been nearby they ran off towards the boy's mother who had now come back carrying some ice creams.

"Mom, you'll never guess who we just saw!" The one boy exclaimed excitedly.

"Who?"

"That bird lady Nightingale from that bird show we saw at the zoo the other week!"

"And the Penguin was with her," the boy's friend added. The boy's mother's face turned to a mixture of horror and disgust as she glanced over in Oswald's direction. He was watching the entire thing and the woman gave him such a filthy look.

"Alright boys lets go," the woman insisted still glaring at Oswald.

"But mom," the boy wined.

"That's enough Berty; I will not be around a well known criminal in broad daylight. And I thought trash like him were only meant to come out at night. No one is safe with scum like that on the streets."

Oswald looked down at the grass glumly, but he wasn't the only one to overhear what cruel things that woman had said about him. Abigail couldn't help but snarl at the woman as she stormed past dragging the two children with her. She felt like yelling something at her, but she didn't know what she would say. She noticed Oswald immediately change as he placed his chin on his hands and began picking the grass glumly. Abigail placed an arm around his shoulders and placed her head on his shoulder much to his surprise, but this time he didn't show it. He was too depressed to feel embarrassed at her comfort.

"Oh Oswald, I can't tell you how sick I am of the way people treat you," Abigail whispered sorrowfully "if I could make it stop I would in an instant."

"I know Abigail;" Oswald then placed his head on hers "you're the only one who cares."

…

Later that night when all was quiet and the crime life was about to kick itself into gear again two distinguished criminals met up in a dark abandoned warehouse. They were very familiar still wearing those suits and hats but didn't look like business men. No these thugs had something big to discuss, something that would change someone's life forever.

"I don't like it here Matt, what if the bat finds us?" The blonde haired man asked barely whispering cautiously as he jumped at every noise he heard. The taller rougher man known as Matt rolled his eyes and hit his partners shoulder hard.

"He won't show up you twit! In case you haven't noticed, he has had bigger fish to fry tracking down Two-face and that Detective Bullock. Besides we don't need to even think about that bat, you know who we're gonna take down."

"Actually, I don't," the man now known to us as Jack scratched his head "who are we paying back again?"

"Oh what do I have to do, write down everything I say to get it in your thick head?" Matt fumed picking out a picture from his coat pocket and waved it in front of his partners face. "Her!"

"Oh the bird lady?" Jack replied "but why do we wanna pay her back?"

"She messed with the wrong men and needs to be taught a lesson," Matt explained "then we'll teach the Penguin to interfere with our personal business!"

"So what we gonna do? Kill her?" Jack asked plainly and Matt simply chuckled humorously.

"Nope, worse."

"How worse can you get than killing someone?"

"Something called public humiliation Jack, I'd look it up in the dictionary if I were you," Matt then glanced up at the picture of Abigail that was obviously taken out of an old news paper article. He had an evil glint in his eyes as he began to tear up the picture and throw it up in the air before each piece lay scattered aimlessly on the cold stone floor "We'll disturb her performance at the zoo in two days, and then we'll see who had the last laugh!"

"And then we'll kill her?" Jack asked clutching his hands together hopefully.

"Perhaps…" Matt smirked "I just want to see her and her little bird brained friends squeal!"

Authors note: Oh gosh what are those thugs up to? Dun, Dun, DUN! Well you'll find out next chapter. Oh and next chapters events will not be what you expect at all. And the big event that I have been building up to is about to happen! I will update soon! In the meantime please review and tell me what you think is going to happen along with any other suggestions you may have. Thank you!


	7. Chapter 7: Go out with a bang

Chapter 7: Go out with a bang

Authors note: Thanks for the last two reviews! I really do appreciate them! Now this chapter's events may happen quite quickly. It will turn from good to bad within a matter of seconds. You have two thugs to thank for that. Anyway Enjoy!

A day went by after their stroll in the park, but neither Abigail nor Oswald had time during the day to see one another. While Abigail decided to spend the day at the zoo training her birds for her big performance the next day, Oswald decided to finally start seeking a job. He was now an ordinary citizen and needed to get a job to get some more money if he intended to join the upper class once again. But neither person stopped thinking about the other. Oswald was wondering how he could admit his feelings for Abigail and she was considering her feelings very closely. Either way both people were now falling in deep, too deep for their liking.

"But how could such a beautiful woman like her fall for a freak like me?" Oswald pondered to himself sighing in depression as he watched it rain from his apartment window. He placed his flipper like hand on the cold glass and pressed his forehead against the glass he inwardly groaned as he knew he was now madly in love with her, but he didn't have the faintest clue whether the feeling was mutual. And this frightened him in more was than he knew.

"Why do I keep on fighting it Claw?" Abigail asked sitting down on her sofa sipping a glass of orange juice whilst her bird flew and perched himself on the table nearby. He glanced up at his owner curiously and she smiled glumly before leaning back and moaned frustrated "I don't know what I am thinking or doing recently. I mean, Oswald Cobblepot has always intrigued me. I guess I have him to thank for my job and everything as his South American vulture Scrap got me my first big break at Gotham zoo! And he is such a sweet, charming and freakishly adorable man who treats me like the woman of his dreams. Perhaps I am, or perhaps I am not. I don't know, I think I love him. He's been there for me and hasn't given up on me like the other men in my life. I have tried fighting my feelings but I guess what they say is true. Love does conquer all. I hate to admit it, but Batman is right. I do have feelings for Oswald Cobblepot. But how on Earth do I tell him?"

"It's hopeless," Oswald continued to mope "even if I do tell her how I feel she'll probably laugh in my face like the other women I have tried to love. Wait, what am I talking about? She isn't that selfish and harsh like those cads! She actually cares about how I feel and would never like to hurt me. But perhaps I can tell her, I know I can trust her even though she doesn't know the half about my past. How I got rejected by everyone around me, friends, family, even the criminals to begin with. She seems to be the only one who really hasn't rejected me yet. I will tell her how I feel, after her show! She has a right to know after all."

"Perhaps I'll tell him after my show tomorrow," Abigail suggested "I am sure he wouldn't mind knowing this kind of thing. I have trusted him with my life these past couple of days so what makes this any different? But this is my first time doing this so of course I'll be nervous. Telling Oswald Cobblepot how I feel will not be an easy task to accomplish, but I'll get by… somehow."

And that was how it would have gone. They would've admitted their feelings to one another if it wasn't for an unexpected incident which would turn the events around for the worst. It would mainly impact Abigail's life but now that Oswald cared deeply for the woman it would also affect him also…

…

Today was the big day. Abigail was about to throw her biggest show yet, and with several reporters, a television camera, an adoring yet small crowd and most of all a dear person awaiting to see what she did for a living, what on Earth could go wrong?

Abigail stood behind the curtain as the man who usually started off the shows at Gotham zoo introduced the crowd to it. She occasionally glanced through to see if a certain person had turned up yet. She kept her gaze fixed on the front row because that is where Oswald was meant to be sitting. And when he finally showed up Abigail couldn't help but grin, amongst the butterflies in her stomach of course from nerves of the show and what she intended to say to him afterwards.

"Look's like this is it Claw," Abigail smiled turning her head towards her bird who was perched on her shoulder. Abigail was dressed fully in her Nightingale costume, her long creamy sleeves were tucked up neatly so she could fit her falconry glove on easier and her long light brown hair was tied up in a black ribbon as usual.

"Miss Nighting," A voice called from behind and Abigail turned around to see her boss Mr Hail standing there with that same grim impatient glare on his features. Abigail inwardly groaned but forced a small smile.

"Mr Hail I don't have time for this, I am about to go on," Abigail explained as the voice of the shows announcer could be heard in the background.

"I am fully aware of that Miss Nighting," Mr Hail began "I just want to say that despite the fact I did not authorise this publicity that Mr Collins has thrown together for you, I wish you luck. But if your show does not get a high enough rating from this you can kiss that contract goodbye."

"Listen to that crowd Mr Hail," Abigail said just as the crowd cheered and clapped in the background "I don't hear any complaints from them or anyone else other than you. Now I personally think that you are deliberately trying to pick faults with my show because of some unknown personal grudge you have against me. I am getting enough ratings and this publicity will give me an extra push. But if you have a problem with that then you can take that up with Mr Collins and myself at a later date. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a show to do." And with that Abigail left her speechless boss standing there while she finally decided to make her entrance on stage.

"Now give it up for the Nightingale!" The announcer called out as Abigail made her way on stage with Claw still perched on her shoulder.

"Thank you Mr Smith," Abigail began as she took the microphone from the announcer and he departed off stage. The audience cheered and clapped as she smiled and waved. The stage area was actually at the bottom of the arena, the audience's seats climbed with the front row at the bottom and the last row at the top. "Welcome ladies, gentlemen, boys and girls and boy aren't we glad you're all here today! We have so much to show today so why don't we get on with it?"

Abigail then walked over towards the stands at the other end of the stage that had several birds perched on them. Abigail placed Claw down and picked up one of the other birds of prey. She picked up a red-tailed hawk and carried him to the centre of the stage before speaking again.

"You all remember Rocky don't you?" Abigail asked the crowd whilst holding the hawk up proudly. She un-hooked him and allowed him to sit on her hand freely. "Now Rocky has something special to show you all today. Look behind you," Abigail then pointed as the audience all turned around and looked up at the top of the arena where several large poles stood in a narrow row Abigail waited a few moments before continuing to speak as she let her bird begin the first trick in the show "Rocky will be weaving in and out of the poles before gracefully flying back to me for a strip of chicken. Go on Rocky; show the crowd your moves!"

The bird didn't need to be told twice; he almost instantly let himself fly toward the back of the arena and with no hesitation weaved in and out of the narrow poles before adjusting his wings so he could fly back to Abigail. She held out a strip of chicken for him as a reward and landed on her hand for the treat while the crowd cheered.

"Give it up for Rocky ladies and gents!" Abigail exclaimed as she took Rocky back over to his perch and went to grab the next bird. She continued to do this with each bird until it built up to her finale.

…

Meanwhile just outside the arena two familiar gentlemen (if you would call them that) stood obviously concealing something in their large brown overcoats. Matt and Jack tried to look inconspicuous but they weren't doing the best job of it. They had decided to enter in when they judged the time was right, they both stood talking, barely a whisper.

"So when we going in Matt?" Jack asked fidgeting underneath his coat "I don't know how much I can conceal this blasted g-"

"Shut up you idiot!" Matt exclaimed cutting him off as a young couple walked by giving them weary looks "do you want us to get caught?"

"No," Jack muttered "but I still don't see why we are going to all of this trouble to humiliate this girl, I mean we don't even know her. Why are you determined to ruin her career over a dumb bird?"

"That bird would've got us a fortune and if it wasn't for fatso Penguin getting involved we would be living like Bruce Wayne right now, providing we robbed a bank shortly afterwards," Matt replied hinting towards Gotham's favourite bachelor, and vigilante, but no one but Alfred and Robin knew that.

"So you wanna take it out on the woman? Why not just go kill Penguin? No one will miss him now that he's reformed," Jack continued to pester with all of his questions. Matt on the other hand was inwardly fuming and was beginning to show it as his face was turning a bright shade of red.

"Stop asking a bunch of stupid questions and do as you're told for once in your pathetic little life! You wouldn't have hit the big time if it wasn't for me, you're my partner in crime and whatever I say you do, you do! Got it?" A swift nod from Jack was all Matt needed to know his partner was on board "besides, I don't wanna have outraged Rogues like Joker or Two-face breathing down my neck if we killed the bird man, so we'll stick with the bird woman instead. And we don't need to kill her, just teach her a lesson."

"And what lesson would that be Matt?"

"Not to mess with Gotham's criminals," Matt then signalled in revealing a gun from within his brown shabby overcoat "now come on! We'll get 'er when she does her grand finale. Then it will definitely go out with a bang!"

"You're the boss Matt," Jack muttered as both men went to enter the arena where the rest of the audience were.

…

As Abigail continued to wow the crowd with her birds she had no idea about what was about to happen to her. No one actually suspected that anything was going to happen that could do any harm, but Matt and Jack were about to do something that would change Abigail's life forever. Despite the fact they didn't intend for events to turn out the way they were about to.

Meanwhile Oswald sat at the front of the arena cheering and clapping as each bird performed their trick and went back to Abigail. He was certainly not unimpressed by what she had shown him, actually he was astounded by the bird's cooperation and the way she had trained them so well. It actually made his way of training birds look rather dull. Sure he had trained his Scrap to take down Batman before but that was different. Training a bird to kill is different to training them to dodge obstacles and fly through hoops. He had truly met a woman who knew her way with birds like he did.

"Now for this trick I will require a volunteer," Abigail continued whilst holding her next bird on her arm, it was a small peregrine falcon and despite the fact a lot of people of all ages had raised their hands to volunteer, she had already chosen who she would pick. "You there Sir!" Abigail pointed within the crowd "would you like to come up?"

Oswald's eyes widened in shock as Abigail pointed in his direction from the stage. Everyone's gaze turned Oswald as he tried not to blush from embarrassment "Me?"

"Yes Sir, come up here and help me with my trick," Abigail smiled trying to avoid any further embarrassment for him. As he made his way up to the stage she watched as the men who moved the birds and furniture brought in the next obstacle, it was a miniature tightrope that went across the stage. Once he made it onto the stage Abigail walked over to him and passed the microphone underneath his nose and decided to introduce him.

"So what would your name be Sir?" Abigail asked despite the fact she already knew. It was for the audiences benefit she decided to ask, not her own.

"Oswald."

Abigail stopped smiling as she and Oswald heard the crowd mutter a few things. Things like _'Oh my Lord that's the Penguin'_ or _'we should leave, the Penguin's here and he may rob us'_ and even the most harshest comment like _'ha-ha look at the way he waddled to the stage, man that fat guy is ugly'_ came up. Oswald had obviously heard these things and refused to look at the crowd, this infuriated Abigail. She had put up with this too often, she was sick of people mocking and judging her Oswald like that. If it wasn't for her performing her show in front of the media, she would've probably told them to shut up, but she didn't wish to be in the bad side of the media for snapping at her audience like that. This was her big chance, and she didn't wish to blow it now!

Abigail nudged Oswald smiling sympathetically before continuing "anyway Oswald, would you hold this strip of chicken please?" Abigail handed him the piece of meat and he waited for further instructions "Now if you would stand at the other end of the tightrope I will demonstrate to the crowd how little Stripe here can balance on the rope whilst walking across it."

Oswald did as he was instructed as Abigail placed the bird known as Stripe on the other end of the tightrope. Oswald held out the chicken on his flipper and the bird slowly began to use his talons to balance and guide his way across the rope without the aid of flight. Abigail observed it as she walked to the other end where Oswald stood determinedly. Abigail nudged Oswald slightly to get his attention and he glanced over to see her smiling at him. She leant in slightly and whispered in his ear.

"After the show I wish to speak with you privately," Abigail then turned back and continued to observe Stripe who had now almost reached the other end of the rope. Oswald couldn't help but grin sheepishly, but it was lucky Abigail stood covering his face from the crowd so they couldn't notice. But he was taken out of his dreamy state when a hungry peregrine falcon began eating the strip of chicken off his hand. Abigail then allowed Oswald to pick the bird up on his arm before giving it back to her. She took Stripe back to his perch and finally let Oswald exit the stage.

"Give it up for Oswald and Stripe ladies and gentlemen!" Abigail called out as Oswald exited the stage and made his way back to his seat. Abigail noticed that only a few people applauded this time round. It was probably because she had chosen Oswald Cobblepot, still known to the general public as the Penguin. She frowned and clenched her fists slightly, not again! But instead of showing her anger she just carried on with her show. Now was when the drama happened. The grand finale.

"Now for my last act of the day, the grand finale! Please welcome my faithful companion, Claw!" Suddenly the large honey buzzard swooped in out of nowhere and landed on Abigail's shoulder. The audience roared and cheered for the main act. The men who had just taken the tightrope off stage brought another obstacle. A large hoop, and not just any hoop. A flaming hoop.

From within the audience at the back of the arena, stood Matt and Jack. Matt was glaring down at Abigail at all times whilst holding his arm in the air ready to give a signal to his partner. Jack just stood with his arms eager to pull out the large gun concealed in his undercoat. Matt waited for the precise moment when they would strike. Nearly all of Abigail's birds were on the other end of the stage to where she stood. She was edging closer and closer to the flaming hoop she was intending to use for the finale. She had no idea what they were about to do, but she would soon find out.

"Claw will be flying through the flaming hoop without any hesitation of any kind. This is most dangerous of all of the tricks today but I assure you Claw is well trained for this," Abigail smiled towards the crowd.

"I am sure he is lady," Matt muttered menacingly placing something into his gun underneath his overcoat a loud click could be heard but other audience members didn't pay attention to it "but are you?"

"So Claw will fly in 3…"

"Get ready Jack."

"2…"

"She'll pay right... about…"

"1…"

"NOW!"

Suddenly from within the crowd a loud gunshot went off disturbing not only the audience but all of the birds onstage including Claw. Abigail jumped out of her skin when the first gunshot went off. The audience were erratically scrambling out of their seats and stampeded for the exit. Abigail tried to gain control of her petrified bird whilst trying to reassure her audience.

"Please people remain seated and I am sure things will be alright," Abigail shouted rather weakly. A second gunshot soon followed which caused people to scream and the birds to squawk in terror. Abigail glanced over to where the gunshots were fired and time had somehow stopped right there and then for several moments. The two same men who attacked her almost a week ago were standing there pointing large guns in the air whilst scared people rushed past them without noticing the guns which had obviously been the cause of the disturbance. Abigail particularly noticed their expressions, especially Matt's. Full of evil and pure malice. He was grinning at her! Grinning and glaring as the madness ensued. Surely this wasn't an act of revenge? Was it? If it was surely he would be pointing the guns at her, but he wasn't. He just wanted to see her suffer, but she didn't realize how much until it was too late. This wasn't over, oh no, this was only the beginning of what was yet to come.

A third and final gunshot was all it took and that was going to be the most painful one for Abigail. Suddenly out of nowhere Claw came down flapping his wings in a fit of fear towards his owner and she fell backwards while letting a loud scream. But unfortunately for Abigail, she didn't just fall onto the floor, oh no. Somehow she had backed into the roaring flaming hoop and after loosing her footing fell onto it causing it to fall with her. On the impact Abigail fell unconscious. The right side of her face just catching the flames as it began to burn her face. She couldn't do anything for she was unconscious. She needed a miracle.

"Let's go man!" Jack called out as he and Matt witnessed Abigail fall over onto the flame. Matt would've stayed to watch it if it were a part of the plan. But even these criminals had their limits. They didn't intend for this part to happen. Matt watched for a moment before he and Jack decided to join the rest of the crowd who were still in a panic frenzy to get out of the exit. Leaving her to her fate the two criminals discarded their guns in the audience seats and despite the fact no one had noticed Abigail's accident, one person actually did and was willing to do something about it.

"ABIGAIL!" Oswald gasped as he noticed her lying on the floor while the fire continued to burn. He instantly ran to her side and picked her up away from the fire. It was still eating away a part of her face but luckily Oswald put it out before it could get anywhere near her hair or nose. Once he had carried her to safety he glanced down at the damaged which was caused by the fire. He gasped in shock and buried his face in hers. Her face looked so innocent while she was still unconscious. But really what this had done to her was the exact opposite. It wasn't innocent. Actually this was going to turn the tables for good.

"What have they done to you my love?" Oswald whispered sorrowfully as a single tear rolled down his cheek and onto hers before falling to the cold hard floor.

This was only the beginning of what was yet to come, and now things would change… and not for the better.

Authors note: Oh dear… Not good, not good at all. Told you it was going to be bad, just wait until Abigail wakes up! Oh and after the next chapter we will get a look into Oswald's past and learn how he became the Penguin. Also I may do a bit of Abigail's past and how she's always been intrigued with the Penguin. Anyway please do tell me what your thoughts are to these events. Thank you and I'll update soon! I swear!


	8. Chapter 8: In her eyes

Chapter 8: In her eyes…

Authors note: Thank you for the reviews! The events are about to turn corners over the next few chapters. The main event has just occurred but if you thought that was bad, watch out for the after effects. Firstly **The Witch Dove Black**, I am afraid you may not like later chapters if you felt that way about the previous chapter. The whole point of the story is hinted in the summary and their love story is impacted by it. But Abigail's scars aren't as bad as you think as you will find out later on but it will not change because I already know what will happen later on and the scars of what happened are vital for future events. Now **Princess Gakoshi** you may have recognised the title is named after that song, well that shall be in this chapter with a certain someone singing it. Anyway get your tissues out; this chapter may get a bit emotional. Enjoy!

Two days. Two stinking days she was out for. I counted the days, the hours, the minutes, until she would wake up. All the anger bubbled inside me the entire time like an active volcano. How dare they do this to her! My dear Abigail taken down by those brutes! But now they would pay, and not with money. Oh no, they would pay with their blood! If they thought they could get away with something like this, they had another thing coming. It seemed every time in my life I had found happiness, there would always be someone to take it away from me. My parents did it, my family did it, the Batman did it and now even criminals were doing it! Couldn't they just once let me have something special in my life without ruining it? Abigail was mine before they did this to her and I would've admitted my feelings for her on that very day. But instead I had to whisper the words "I love you" to her unconscious body as it was carried away by the paramedics. It's not fair! Why couldn't they have done that to me instead? My love being publicly humiliated with that, she didn't deserve that. If anyone deserved it, I did. I mean I have been a wanted fugitive ever since my early twenties and I have been running from the law ever since, but I never realized I had something special when I was reformed until it was gone.

I never expected I'd fall for her like I have. I mean when I saw her on TV in prison she intrigued me, but only on her love for birds. Sure she was pretty back then but I knew that no one like her could ever fall for a freak like me. But I was wrong, I do love her now, and what had been a pretty young woman to me back then was now a beautiful angel. And if it wasn't for her, I would probably already be back in Stonegate Penitentiary feeding birds from behind bars. Knowing my tolerance for people's negative criticism it was certain I would've turned back to crime by now. But I hadn't. Abigail had helped me overcome it. She was a force field, someone who liked me as a person, someone who could be herself around me without putting on an act to stay in my good books. She was definitely someone special, the light of my life.

But those cads decided to ruin my happiness! But they'll pay. I know their running, and not just from the law. They're probably scared that I'll go after them, and they have a good reason to be. They messed with the wrong bird! The Penguin will not take any prisoners, no ransom demands, not even a little tip off to the police, not this time. No, this time it was just going to be them, me and my trusty umbrella spike, poking holes in their bodies. And then we'll see how it hurts.

But first I would have to face Abigail, and my poor dear's first day conscious wouldn't be too good. But we would share something that day that would make me even more determined to track down those thugs and make them my personal hood ornaments.

…

Gotham hospital was always busy. Twenty four hours, seven days a week. The accident and emergency ward was usually the busiest, especially during the day. But moving away from the general accident ward and turn to the more severe injuries part of the hospital you would find the severe burns unit.

Waiting at the reception desk stood a very unnerving Oswald. He was holding a bunch of flowers in his right hand as he rang the bell to get the receptionists attention. The woman looked down at him whilst checking her computer; her squeaky voice went straight through Oswald as she spoke. Gosh that woman's voice was worse than Harley Quinn's.

"May I help you Sir?" The woman asked plainly not even glancing at Oswald; he flinched and clutched his bouquet of flowers tightly before speaking calmly.

"I am here to visit Abigail Nighting; may I ask what room she is in please?"

"Let's see," the woman said checking through a list muttering Abigail's name repeatedly before her slim manicured finger stopped on the list "ah, she's in room 264 down the hall."

"Thank you madam," Oswald said tilting his hat in a gentleman like manner before departing down the hallway searching for room 264.

As Oswald approached the door he noticed someone step outside it, it was the doctor he had spoken to the day they had brought her in. Oswald approached the doctor cautiously as he began writing down things on the board in his hands.

"How is she doctor?" Oswald enquired and the doctor looked down at him with a blank expression.

"She is awake," the doctor replied as Oswald's face light up "I wouldn't be too happy about it though Mr Cobblepot. The impact with the fire seems to have damaged both of her eyes retinas causing her to be temporarily blinded. Although her left eye is definitely better off than her right eye."

"How bad is it doctor?" Oswald asked feeling his heart race nervously.

"We don't know that yet, when her sight returns we will take off the bandage that covers her right eye and see how severe the fire ate away the flesh around her eye. But I wouldn't get your hopes up Mr Cobblepot, we cannot ignore the possibility that she may never see again."

"Yes of course, thank you doctor," Oswald said as the doctor placed the board in a slot outside the doorway and continued to walk down the hallway. Oswald then turned and gulped before curling his flipper like hand into a fist and gently knocked on the door. When he stepped inside there was a sight he wasn't expecting.

"Who's there?" Abigail asked from within the room. She was sitting upright in her bed with a black eye mask covering her eyes. She was waving her arms about frantically getting to grips with her surroundings but she seemed fully alert. Oswald shut the door behind him and a small smile crept onto his face as he made his way over to the right hand side of the bed where a visitor chair stood.

"It's just me my dear," Oswald chirped noticing an immediate change in Abigail's behaviour. She stopped waving her arms about and she almost instantly relaxed as she recognised the voice, also he noticed a sweet smile crept onto her face as he made his way toward her.

"Oswald?"

"The one and only," Oswald grinned placing the bunch of flowers on her bed next to her as he sat down.

"By what I can feel, these are flowers are they not?" Abigail enquired as she felt her way up and down the stalk of the plant up to the flower petals.

"Yes I felt you could use them to brighten up the room a little," Oswald then took them off of her and placed them in a vase nearby.

"It's a shame I cannot see them," Abigail said still smiling "I am sure they are lovely. Thank you."

"You'll see them soon my dear," Oswald replied.

"Oswald?"

"Yes Abigail?"

"The doctor told me I was out for two days, where is Claw? Please tell me nothing happened to my bird!" Abigail's voice began to be more panicky but Oswald grabbed her hand in his and stroked it gently before calmly speaking.

"Don't worry my dove; I took care of that personally. Claw is currently living with me; nothing will harm him while he's under my care."

"Thank you," Abigail smiled gratefully. She grabbed his hand and placed it in hers; they remained silent until Oswald decided to speak.

"I am sorry about what happened," Oswald frowned "I failed you, and I apologise for that."

"You didn't fail me Oswald," Abigail assured softly "I believe you're the one who saved me, if it wasn't for you I'd probably be dead right now."

"Don't say that Abigail, I am not a hero."

"You are to me Oswald," Abigail then let go of his hand and her arm reached over to the side table. She felt around the table searching for something, after finally placing her hands around the glass of water that stood there she picked it up with her shaking hand and slowly tried to bring it to her dry lips, but being blind had its disadvantages.

"Here, let me help you," Oswald offered taking the glass off of her and placing a steady hand on her face as he let her drink from the glass. He felt her skin trembling, she was trembling all over but wouldn't you be if you had just been through what she had? After placing the water glass back on the table Oswald kept his hand on her face caressing her skin softly. Oh how he wanted to tell her right now about how he felt about her, but he didn't know how to express it. She allowed him to keep on stroking her skin while he debated this; she too was thinking the same thing in her mind.

"Um, Abigail?" Oswald began awkwardly.

"The doctor told me there might be a possibility my sight will never return, that I'll have to give up my career and depend on other people," Abigail cut him off unexpectedly, her voice trembling with a hint of sorrow in her tone. Oswald didn't like that she had changed the subject to something completely different to what he was about to say, but she needed to get these things off her chest. Right now her sight was more important than his emotions.

"Oh Abigail I don't know what to say," Oswald admitted sadly but then took her hand once again and held it tightly "but I do no one thing, I will always be here for you."

"You're such a good friend Oswald, what did I do to deserve you?" Abigail said softly as Oswald smiled adoringly at her. His mind was urging him to tell her how he felt right there and then.

'_Tell her how you feel now!'_ His inner voice demanded.

'_But what if she doesn't love me back?'_ Oswald replied to himself glumly.

'_You do not know that. She trusts you, cares for you and owes her life to you. You stand a pretty good chance of winning her over, but firstly you must tell her!' _His conscience pressed on and Oswald let out a quiet groan before thinking. It's now or never.

As soon as Oswald was about to open his mouth the door opened at the other end of the room and a nurse came in with a tray of equipment, she closed the door behind her before turning to face Oswald and Abigail.

"Miss Nighting it is time for your shots," the nurse began then turning to Oswald "would you mind waiting outside a few minutes Sir?"

"Do carry on young lady I'll just wait in the hallway," Oswald replied standing up to leave the room, he hit his head with his hands and inwardly cursed himself as he left the room. He was almost there too! He almost told her!

A few minutes later the nurse came out of the room and signalled to Oswald "you may go in now, but I would be aware. She may be unconscious for around ten minutes. I'm afraid the shot has a minor sedative that is very temporary. But it helps keep the pain away. Just wait until she comes around, it shouldn't be too long," the nurse then walked off down the corridor and Oswald re-entered the room cautiously. Abigail was indeed unconscious, but the nurse said it was only temporary and that she would wake up shortly. But in the meantime all he could do was wait. Wait and think.

"Alright Oswald you can do this," Oswald said aloud to himself "when she comes around tell her straight, no hesitations or anything. Just tell her how you feel and everything will be alright."

"But how do I tell her?" Oswald continued to ponder as he turned away from Abigail and glanced out of the window "I still recall the previous time I told a woman I had feelings for her. Maggie Maynard, the class princess and drama queen, the one who disgraced me in front of the whole school along with the dreaded Sammy Douglas. But Abigail is nothing like her, she actually cares about how I feel and would respect my feelings no matter what I say. But a simple 'I love you' will not suffice, no she must be told in a special way. But how?"

Oswald then pressed his long nose against the glass as he thought of a special way to tell Abigail how he felt about her. He didn't have long, any minute now she would come around and he would then have no choice but to tell her the old fashioned way. He had considered several options. A sonnet? No too long and complicated. A poem? No he would have to think of one and he didn't have the time. A song? Now there was an idea! But did he know of any good songs he could sing? Wait, there was one. One his father sang to his mother when he was younger. How did it go again?

Oswald began to whisper the lyrics quietly to himself but gradually got louder as he continued.

_She stares through my shadow  
She sees something more  
Believes there's a light in me  
She is sure  
And her truth makes me stronger  
Does she realize  
I awake every morning  
With her strength by my side_

_I am not a hero  
I am not an angel  
I am just a man  
Man who's trying to love her  
Unlike any other  
In her eyes I am_

Oswald then turned around to see Abigail smiling contentedly while she still lay motionless. She wasn't awake yet, but for some reason he felt that she was listening. As he continued to sing he got more confident and his voice grew louder. He did not care if anyone outside was listening, why should he? He was judged for everything he stood for, why should his voice matter? He knew he wasn't a good singer, but he tried. And this was his moment to let his emotions spill out. He was for once in his miserable life, truly content. And nothing could ruin this moment, not one thing.

_This world keeps on spinning  
Only she stills my heart  
She's my inspiration  
She's my northern star  
I don't count my possession  
All I call mine  
I will give her completely  
To the end of all time_

He recalled the first time they had met. When he saved her from the same thugs who did this to her. He felt like he was doing good in the world, like he could finally be of use without robbing anyone. And he did. She called him her hero. But was he really? Batman didn't think so. He just claimed he was doing it to use her or gain attention, but he was wrong there. Would he really go to all of that trouble only to use her? Sure he had manipulated people in the past to do his will but that was when he kidnapped them and held them for ransom or at gun point even. And back then, love wasn't an option. Only with Veronica Vreeland that is, and she chose to break his heart. But Abigail had done nothing but be kind to him. No using, no back stabbing, no fearing, just kindness and admiration. and being kind was all he wished for.

_I am not a hero  
I am not an angel  
I am just a man  
Man who's trying to love her  
Unlike any other  
In her eyes I am_

Although he didn't realize it at the time, Abigail was slowly coming around. He was turned away from her still gazing out of the window as he sang when she awoke from her brief sleep. She awoke to the sound of his voice but he wasn't speaking, oh no, he was in fact… singing! And as she listened to what he was singing about her heart began to melt. He was singing about her! Not only was it about her but he was saying how much he cared and loved her. Was this real? Were these words true? She knew he hadn't noticed her regain consciousness, neither did she wish to stop him. Even though his singing voice wasn't perfect it still made her smile. She now knew how he felt about her and it made her contented and somewhat relieved. He loved her back! Now all she wanted to do was grab him and hug him, but she couldn't see so that would be a difficult challenge. Instead of interrupting him she decided to let him finish his breath taking song and then she would tell him how she felt.

_In her eyes I see the sky and all I'll ever need  
In her eyes time passes by and she is with me_

She then noticed how his determined and loud voice then turned into a whisper. He glanced sorrowfully in her direction but still didn't realize she was now fully conscious. Perhaps it was the mask that covered her eyes. He couldn't tell if she were awake because he couldn't see her eyes. It was a good thing too; because if he had found out she was awake he would've stopped singing his wonderful song. He finished the song by singing the chorus again with his low quiet voice and by the end of it he was back at Abigail's side, not knowing that she had heard the majority of it.

_I am not a hero  
I am not an angel  
I am just a man  
Man who's trying to love her  
Unlike any other  
In her eyes I am_

Oswald's eyes were clenched shut as he sang the last verse, but they flashed open when he heard someone clapping. Oswald's head snapped into the direction of Abigail as she sat up clapping. Oswald's eyes widened and a big red blush formed on his cheeks, he remembered ruining Joker's practical joke on Two-face before at the wrong moment, and looking back on it now, that situation wasn't half as embarrassing as this.

"Oswald, that was beautiful," Abigail grinned still clasping her hands in awe. She decided to play dumb and ask him a completely obvious question "tell me who was that about?"

"Oh Abigail I didn't realize you regained consciousness," Oswald stammered nervously as his flipper like hands were trembling whilst arranging his black bow on his suit as a distraction "Well, the song is about someone I care for deeply." He obviously wanted to avoid the question entirely.

"Who?" Abigail pressed on causing Oswald to start sweating in fear. It was as if he had inhaled some of Scarecrow's fear toxin the way he was hyperventilating and raving like a lunatic. Was this really a fear of his? Admitting feelings to a person? Well it could be understood with the past experiences he had had with women.

"U-um, well the song was kind of about," Oswald gulped and breathed before finally saying "you."

Abigail's face dropped and he panicked, this was like how he had dreaded the situation would be, yet again a woman was going to turn him down and his heart would be crushed once again. But as his face looked down Abigail's face turned into a wide grin. He looked up as she placed a soft hand on his face, unfortunately she had to feel her way on his face because she obviously couldn't see, but he hardly minded. Actually he was currently occupied with being baffled.

"You know Oswald; I don't usually let my true feelings out." Abigail said while her hand made its way up his nose, his eyes were fixed on her hand the whole time as his cheeks erupted with red like an active volcano spewing red hot lava. "But when I do," Abigail continued "I only admit them to the people whom I care for most. And ever since I met you, I feel as if I could tell you anything. Now I have to admit, I have been thinking about you. A lot!"

"So this isn't a rejection?" Oswald enquired "Could it be I have finally found someone whom I love and loves me in return?"

"I believe so," Abigail's face formed into a smirk as her fingers placed softly on his lips. He froze and didn't know what to do; no woman had ever done something like this before. But they had just admitted their feelings to one another, so he would have to get used to it.

After a short but very awkward silence as Abigail still placed a single finger on his lips Oswald felt the need to speak up. His heart rate was increasing by the second and if he wasn't careful, Abigail wouldn't be the only one to be admitted to hospital.

"Abigail Nighting," Oswald breathed "I love you with all my heart."

Abigail then took off her black eye mask revealing a very hazy left hazel eye, due to the temporary blindness of course, and a firmly strapped right eye. No damage was evident on her eye but it was so bandaged up that Oswald couldn't see anything underneath. Even though she couldn't see him, it still looked like she was gazing into his eyes. She smiled softly as she edged forward, Oswald soon followed.

"Well then," Abigail breathed before softly placing her lips on his. They had sealed their love with a kiss. It was a gentle yet long kiss as the two embraced. Oswald was trying to be as gentle with her as possible as he knew she was still in a fragile state from the incident. But he couldn't help himself at the same time. A burst of passion buzzed throughout his entire body, it had been so long since he had kissed someone. It was completely new to him also, he wasn't much of a kisser even when he did kiss someone, but Abigail didn't mind. She on the other hand just wanted to hold onto him and never let him go. She felt as if he were the only thing worth holding onto in the world now. She knew that her career would be affected by this, her entire life even. But that didn't matter as long as she had Oswald. And now they had admitted their feelings for each other it was certain that they would remain that way for a very long time. Sure their relationship had developed rather quickly, but they knew how they felt. And nothing could separate them now, not even the Batman.

"I love you too Oswald Cobblepot," Abigail whispered after they ended the kiss and decided to share a long but loving embrace.

…

After spending several hours more with each other Oswald was finally told by the doctors to leave. The visiting hours were over and it was rather late, but instead of heading straight home after departing from Abigail's hospital room, he decided to make a phone call. Walking past the reception desk and heading for the payphone booth he checked to see if anyone were nearby before pressing the numbers into the payphone box and firmly pressed the phone to his ear. Someone he knew well answered the phone, and Oswald frowned slightly.

"Howdy there, welcome to Perry's pizza kingdom may I take your order?" The voice said on the other end, Oswald clenched the phone tightly and snarled a bit.

"Drop the act Sheldrake it's me."

"Sorry you've got the wrong number, who is this by the way?"

"It's me you twit!" Oswald exclaimed "Penguin!"

"Boss?" Sheldrake's voice squeaked. Sheldrake was one of the Penguin's henchmen who had helped him sabotage Batman's car and also stole and flew a Wayne enterprises helicopter while Penguin held it for ransom. He and his buddies Eagleton and Falcone had been released from prison several weeks before Oswald and were obviously laying low from the law. "I thought you said you were reformed."

"I am," Oswald replied calmly "but something has come up and I need you to get the boys together."

A sudden interruption on the other end of the line became clear to Oswald when another voice could be heard "Who's on the line Shelly?"

"It's the Boss," Sheldrake replied down the line "and don't call me Shelly Eagleton!"

"What does the Boss want us to do now? Can't he see we're laying low here? Plus the news says he has a girlfriend so whatever dirty work he wants us to do he can just get his girlfriend to do it for him."

"I can hear you Eagleton you pompous windbag!" Oswald snapped down the phone, he was obviously loosing his patience and temper with his past henchmen. They always unnerved him even when he was a criminal, teasing birds and mocking his grammar, how it unnerved him at times.

"Oops," was all that could be heard down the line.

"You'll get _'oops'_ you oaf," Oswald muttered "now if you boy's want to make a comeback I would suggest meeting me tomorrow night to discuss a private matter I wish to share."

"Sure Boss, we'll show. At your apartment?" Sheldrake asked casually, a little too casually for Oswald's liking.

"Yes, around six in the evening," Oswald explained before adding "oh, and do wear something decent."

"Sure thing Boss, see ya then," Sheldrake then put the phone down and Oswald took his hat off and rubbed his head with a small black and white handkerchief. He then gazed down the hallway where Abigail's room was situated and whispered to himself.

"Don't you worry Abigail my dove, I'll make those monsters pay for what they did to you," Oswald then walked out of the hospital and headed home. It was time for him to get back and feed Claw anyway, but tonight he would reminisce about may past things.

Why did he become the Penguin? It wasn't just about money, sure his family was rich and he wasn't their personal favourite when it came to the family inheritance. But it wasn't just his family that pushed him towards crime. Oh no, it went much deeper than that. His parents did love him but they pushed him to be someone he wasn't, forced him to be friends with those who bullied him, and only brought a bird shop so that it would amuse him and make him happier so he would cooperate with their plans. His family, _'so called'_ friends and even the general public pushed him off the deep end as it were. It wasn't just about his appearance, but when it was it hurt, hurt so much that crime seemed the only option. And even when he started out the criminals didn't take him seriously either. He recalled the first run-in he had with Batman too; he could've sworn he laughed when he first laid eyes on him. No one took Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot seriously and never showed him any respect at all. So he would turn against them, becoming a criminal and being among the other well known and feared Rogues of Gotham city! But how did it begin? What was the first time he ever thought of harming someone?

It all started on his seventh birthday…

Authors note: Aww this chapter was dead sweet! But I guess I added some humour with Penguin's henchmen. They are the ones who appear in the episodes 'The Mechanic' and 'Blind as a bat' so his henchmen are not my OC's. So what do you think? Oh and next chapter we will see several flashbacks into Oswald's past. Abigail will not be in the next chapter I'm afraid but both young Bruce Wayne and Batman will make an appearance along with two characters I mentioned briefly in this chapter. I'll update soon! In the meantime I would appreciate reviews! Thanks!


	9. Chapter 9: A Penguin was born

Chapter 9: A Penguin was born…

Authors note: Thanks for the reviews!** Princess Gakoshi **I still cannot believe the last chapter made you cry! I am touched and I am glad you loved it! And **The Witch Dove Black **I assure you their love story isn't like the others out there. The scar will impact her life entirely as the events will show after this chapter but it isn't just a scar around her eye. But it will get better I swear. Anyway this chapter is based on Oswald's past and how it eventually builds up to the point he becomes the Penguin. Several of these flashbacks are the main times he felt like he could hurt someone, although the first one involves him being hurt by someone. Also Oswald's parents names aren't mentioned in anything other than the movie _'Batman returns'_ and despite the fact that version of Penguin doesn't really agree with me that much I decided to use the films names in this chapter. Besides TAS Penguin is kinda based on the movie one, only difference is he his less scary, more formal and doesn't live in a sewer. Anyway Enjoy!

Around twenty years before Batman took to Gotham's streets things were hard, especially for the children growing up at the time. Crime thrived around at this time more than ever; it was around this time that the true Batman was born. When Bruce Wayne's parents were shot that horrific night a part of him already became the Batman. It was the same for Oswald Cobblepot, around this very time a part of him would become the Penguin. Their fates were for certain, and impacted by key events. While Bruce Wayne's was witnessing his own parents murders, Oswald was tormented day in and day out by those around him.

Of course being the child of a wealthy family was difficult, especially for a child like Oswald Cobblepot. He was different to the other children, and for this he was a tormented friendless loner who had no one but his parents to lean on for comfort and they didn't truly understand him either. Oswald was extremely podgy for his age, his short black hair always combed back neatly and his chubby cheeks constantly kept their red glow. But these weren't the features that he was teased for. Well his podginess did have a small part to play but that was considered normal among the people, other features on the other hand were considered beyond normal. Oswald went by the nicknames 'bird boy' or 'Penguin' for several reasons. He had a considerably large beak like nose, larger than both his parents noses put together! Also he was a short person even for his age, and because of this, his podginess stood out more. And lastly he had a keen interest in birds which obviously got him his nicknames despite his bird like appearance of course.

Tucker and Esther Cobblepot were well known in the high society of Gotham city. They were loved and hated by many people, although the hate outweigh the loved by miles. The Cobblepot's, unlike the Wayne's, were not known for their charity events and helping the less fortunate, instead they took the peoples money and spent it on parties, gambling and other unnecessary things. Tucker Cobblepot was a short man, just a little shorter than his wife even. He was the type of gentleman who would always carry a drink and a smoking pipe around whatever the occasion; his short tidy brown hair and his suit and eye monocle made him look like the perfect gentleman which in public pretended to be. His wife Esther was taller than her husband but wasn't considerably tall herself, she was the kind of woman who had a keen eye for expensive jewellery. She had long wavy black hair that went perfectly well with her jade green eyes. She always wore a formal dress on every public occasion or even just at the manor itself.

The Cobblepot manor was situated just outside of Gotham city. It looked like it was an untouched countryside as you entered the grounds as it was full of trees and small hills as far as the eye could see. This made it a great place for Oswald to go exploring! He had a vivid imagination and was always keen to escape reality and go into his own adventure. Whether it be fighting fearsome creatures in the jungle, or joining the astronauts in outer space to land on a distant planet, Oswald found he could be free in his own world. Free from the torment, the high expectations from those around him, the misery of everyday life.

Today was a manic day at Cobblepot manor. The staff were rushing around the place like nobodies business as they were preparing for a special event. Today was little Oswald's seventh birthday and, like always, his parents threw a big party in his honour. But he wouldn't call it a party as such, more like a gathering. Everyone knew it was only an excuse for Tucker and Esther to invite all of the well known celebrities to their party in the hopes of getting in their good books. They hardly considered the fact it was a party for their son, they invited no friends of his and the children who did attend were only the sons and daughters of the people they had invited. Oswald wasn't looking forward to this day for weeks, and now that it was here, he felt like he had just entered a dragon's lair.

"Come along Oswald," Esther said dragging her son from the window snapping him back into that dreary thing he called reality "the guests will be coming soon."

"Mother do I have to do this?" Oswald wined much to his mother's surprise.

"Oswald, this is for your benefit," Esther continued gazing around monitoring the staffs work closely.

"Don't you mean yours?" Oswald asked with a hint of sarcasm in his tiny voice "this is more like your party."

"How so?"

"Well most of the guests are adults and the children you have invited aren't anyone I know, this may be my party but it's just an excuse for you to socialize isn't it?"

"My, my Ozzy dear you did wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning didn't you?" Esther teased ruffling his hair a little before sorting it out again, she was obviously not taking her son seriously, no surprise there then.

"I'm being serious mother," Oswald continued but his mother just smiled and stood to her full height.

"Don't you worry your little head my dear," Esther then patted his shoulder and began to walk away "you'll enjoy this occasion like no other."

"Sure," Oswald huffed crossing his arms while a small frown appeared on his face. He wasn't going to enjoy this day at all, and it would only get worse.

Around an hour later the guests began to arrive and Esther, Tucker and Oswald came to greet them at the entrance while their trusty butler Berty came and took the coats and other belongings away. Oswald stood below his proud parents with a small frown on his face, everytime a guest came through the door he forced a smile but it immediately fell once they passed. Tucker shook hands with every guest formally much to his son's displeasure, how he wished he could just run out of that huge door and go on an adventure somewhere. But he couldn't. He was forced to endure this whether he liked it or not.

"Lord and Lady Smith," Tucker greeted as three other people entered the doorway. Berty took their coats and yet again departed into the other room. Lord and Lady Smith were yet another bunch of high society aristocrats; they were also joined with their son Ralph who was extremely fat, even bigger than Oswald even. "We are so glad you have made it."

"We couldn't miss little Oswald's birthday," Mr Smith replied then edging his son forward "what do you say to the birthday boy Ralph?"

Ralph shoved the gift he held in his arms right into Oswald's face "yeah, yeah, happy birthday," he then began to rush off inside before asking aloud "where's the food?"

"Will you excuse us? Lord Smith smiled leading his wife inside the main hall. Tucker and Esther smiled smugly and then turned back to the door. Oswald placed the present down on the floor and rubbed his stomach where it had just been pushed into him rudely.

Next to come through the door was the Wayne family. Oswald could've sworn he heard his parents grumble and mutter curses to each other as Thomas, Martha and their son Bruce Wayne strolled inside. The Wayne's didn't get on well with the Cobblepot's; it had been that way for years. The Wayne's were well known for their charity work and their big business Wayne industries. The Cobblepot's on the other hand were known for being stuck up arrogant snobs who could care less about the less fortunate. This caused a bit of a stir up between Thomas Wayne and Tucker Cobblepot, they had been at a small war for years which their wives let them get on with none the less.

"Mr and Mrs Cobblepot," Thomas acknowledged as he guided his son and wife through the door, they forced a smile along with Tucker and Esther as the situation grew a little intense with their private feud.

"Mr and Mrs Wayne," Tucker replied with no particular tone "thank your for coming."

"Thank you for the invitation," Thomas said "I hope you don't mind but we brought our butler Alfred along with us to keep an eye on Bruce."

"Ah yes your son," Tucker glanced down at the young Bruce Wayne. He couldn't help but snarl at the boy; he was so bright and cheerful despite his parent's irritation. Bruce smiled towards Oswald and handed him his present gently. Oswald grinned slightly as he received the gift.

"Happy birthday," Bruce said softly.

"Thank you," Oswald replied looking down at the neatly wrapped gift.

"Well come along Bruce," Thomas patted his son on the shoulder indicating for him to follow them "Alfred will be joining us in a minute and we need to leave the Cobblepot's until the rest of the guests have arrived. Goodbye Tucker."

"Thomas," Tucker bowed slightly as the family made their way into the other room. Bruce turned around and waved at Oswald who did the same with his weak flipper like hand. This was the first boy today who didn't snigger or push past him when they came to the party. He didn't know why his parents bickered with the Wayne's but in his opinion, they were alright.

"I told you we shouldn't have invited them," Esther whispered "you and Wayne have had a disagreement for years; you'll only encourage it more if you invite them to Oswald's parties."

"What did you expect me to do Esther dear?" Tucker muttered back "we have to keep up appearances, we are the Cobblepot's after all."

Oswald couldn't help but gaze out onto the balcony that was a part of the entrance to the manor. Two birds, doves in fact, rested peacefully ruffling their feathers on the stone surface they were perched on. He wished he could go out and pet them, birds always fascinated him, ever since he was a little toddler. But sadly his parents didn't share his interest; neither did they care about what he would rather do, not today anyway. Instead he would have to do his parents wishes if he wanted to get through this.

The last guests to arrive were the Douglas's. Arthur Douglas was the new elected Mayor of Gotham city and was now a personal favourite of the Cobblepot's. Tucker and Esther always went out of their way to impress the Douglas family. Arthur and his wife Maria had a son called Sammy who was an obnoxious brat when he wasn't acting all sweet and innocent in front of his parents. Oswald knew this more than anyone else. Sammy had been the main boy to bully Oswald for his appearance and poor Oswald had to endure it. He had told his parents but they were too stuck up to care about it, they wouldn't sacrifice their son's safety for the friendship they had with the Mayor. This angered Oswald, and he vowed he would never become like his parents.

"Mayor Douglas we are so happy you have arrived with your lovely wife and son," Tucker clasped his hands happily as the tall man, his short wife and his stuck up son entered the building. Oswald kept his eyes away from Sammy at all times; he didn't want to be a victim, especially on his birthday.

"Sorry we were late," Mayor Douglas apologised formally "little Sammy here couldn't find anything decent to wear, despite the fact he has tons of nice suits to wear."

"Can't help it if I wish to look my best for this occasion can I Father?" Sammy boasted obnoxiously causing Oswald to roll his eyes. Sammy was a tall boy, took after his father for his height. He had glossy blonde hair combed back and always kept that smug grin plastered on his face at all times. He was an attention seeker and always seemed to get what he wanted. Even Tucker and Esther paid him more attention than their own son, this angered and saddened Oswald to know his parents preferred this boy to their own son.

"Your son is such a sweetheart Mayor," Esther noted.

"Yes, now I believe there is a party going on inside?" Mayor Douglas asked.

"Ah yes," Tucker said guiding the family inside "please follow me." Oswald inwardly groaned as Sammy smirked evilly in his direction the torture had begun.

Around an hour later Oswald managed to sneak out of the manor and be free of the crowd for a while. He had put up with this far too long and couldn't take much more. He hated these parties, they weren't celebrating his birthday. Just socializing, boasting on who had the more money and power in Gotham. Oswald wondered what it would be like to be a normal child from a normal family. Things would be much simpler than they were with his family. He wished his parents would stop forcing him to be something he wasn't; he just wanted to be himself, a normal seven year old boy with a normal life, was that too much to ask.

Oswald stopped walking as he approached the small hill. A tree stood at the top and he placed his flipper like fingers on the cool bark after climbing the hill he looked up when he heard a bird chirping softly. To his surprise it was a nightingale of all birds, he could've recalled he had read that nightingales were not native to America, oh well this was probably one that escaped a bird sanctuary or something. Oswald reached up to pet the bird but it retreated to a higher branch, one that poor Oswald couldn't reach. He stood there for several moments more trying to gain the bird's trust but something unexpected came and interrupted the moment entirely.

"GOTCHA!"

Oswald suddenly felt two hands push on his back causing him to fall down the hill and land in some mud. Oswald wiped his face and began to sniffle as an evil cackle could be heard from above. It was Sammy Douglas, and even on his birthday he was determined to make Oswald's life a living hell.

"What's the matter Ozzy?" Sammy smirked towering over him on the hill bank. "Mommy and Daddy not here to help you? Shame really, but it is no surprise. Everyone knows they prefer me to you."

Oswald didn't reply, instead he began to cry in shame. He tilted his head away from Sammy so he couldn't see the tears on his mud stained face but Sammy heard the whimpers, and that indicated he was indeed crying.

"Oh Penguin, how does it feel to be a bird with no feathers?" Sammy teased not even considering how much his words hurt poor Oswald

"Leave me alone," Oswald demanded weakly rubbing his watery eyes with his muddy sleeve. Sammy just cackled in response and continued to tower over the poor and defenceless Oswald.

"You are pathetic," Sammy spat "you make your family ashamed, you're not fit to be in high society. You may come from a rich family but that doesn't make you anything special. Just look at you, you're a bird boy with no friends and a dodgy deformed body, no wonder your parents prefer me to you."

Oswald felt sad, well that was before but now he was beginning to get angry. Sammy was a cruel and vile child who loved to torment those around him. Oswald couldn't take criticism well; it hurt him, a lot! Every time he was called a name or pushed around by someone, like Sammy for instance, a part of him grew more and more nasty. He wasn't a violent child, he couldn't hurt a fly let alone a person, but sometimes even he could be pushed over the edge. Oswald began to clench his fists through the tears as Sammy continued to mock and tease above him, and he would've done something he would have regretted if it wasn't for someone unexpectedly appearing just at the right time.

"Hey why don't you leave him alone? He hasn't done anything to you!" Sammy's face dropped when he heard another voice, it was full of determination and a hint of anger. He turned to see young Bruce Wayne steeping from behind the tree; he had obviously seen everything and came to Oswald's rescue.

"And what do you think you're gonna do Brucey?" Sammy smirked smugly "try and save the little twit?"

"You are a stuck up brat do you know that Sammy?" Bruce asked crossing his arms while glaring as hard as he could.

"Sticks and stones," Sammy said "now run along before I tell your parents something they don't want to hear, and trust me, all of the adults believe me."

"Oh do they now?" Bruce replied looking down where Oswald lay, he was huddled up in a defensive ball which made the boy pity him more "I wonder how your parents would react to hearing that their charming son beat up the birthday boy."

"You wouldn't," Sammy's face fell and Bruce's rose even more determined than ever.

"I would."

"Alright I'll leave him alone," Sammy huffed turning around and heading back to the manor defeated. Bruce just smiled triumphantly before turning back around and looked down the hill where Oswald still lay.

"Are you alright?" Bruce enquired concern evident in his voice.

"I'm fine," Oswald replied weakly.

"Are you sure? I can get help if you like."

"I'm fine!" Oswald shouted back rather rudely "just leave me alone!"

Bruce was none the less gobsmacked by Oswald's tone, such a quiet boy he was, but he had snapped at him after saving him from that bully. But it was to be expected in a way, poor Oswald probably wanted some time alone before heading back to his dreaded party. Bruce decided to do as the boy wished and headed back to the manor without saying a word.

Oswald lay there on the ground weeping with a mixture of sadness and rage for around ten minutes. He still couldn't believe he reacted that way towards Bruce Wayne, he didn't mean to snap but it seemed he was too emotional right now to control his temper. Right now he wanted nothing more than to be alone, and it would remain that way, until an unexpected visitor came over. Oswald looked up as his tear and mud stained face still ached with emotion, that nightingale had came down and perched itself on a low branch nearby. It gazed curiously at Oswald and he reached out his hand and whistled to it softly. The bird surprisingly perched itself on his flipper and he brought it close to examine it.

"You the odd one out too little fellow?" Oswald whispered to the bird and it began to sing in response. After several moments of Oswald examining the rare to Gotham bird, the nightingale flew off but its songs could still be heard. Oswald then decided to stand up. He watched the bird fly away and wished that he could sprout wings and fly away with it, but he couldn't. He was just a boy. A lonely, deformed bird boy who was laughed at day in and day out by his peers. There was nothing that he could do. He couldn't help the way he looked, but as he grew older and the torments gradually got worse, he would find his patience go a bit everyday. This was the first time he felt angry at someone for mocking him, and it was one of the many that would contribute to his criminal life as the Penguin.

…

Over time things had changed for the Cobblepot family. As Oswald grew older, his parent's expectations grew higher. He was expected to attend many more high social events with them and be taught good grammar and gentleman like ways in and out of school. His parents knew that Oswald had no friends; they knew he tried but failed, and they knew that his mood was often affected by this. This was the reason why they had brought a small bird shop that was going out of business in central Gotham. It was now a thriving business with a wide range of birds in stock. Tucker and Esther had made Oswald in charge of caring for each and every one of the birds after school; this made him much happier to know he could always confide in his birds. He was a natural with training them, and every so often the people who worked in the shop allowed him to take the birds out for a fly around. Life was good for Oswald, but it wasn't perfect as he would soon find out. The hard way, as usual.

As everyone knew, Oswald had no friends. It was hard going into high school every day, being alone at lunch time, always being picked last for sports and often becoming the victim for torment and misery. This was the life in Gotham high school. And add on the fact his worse enemy was his childhood tormenter and personal demon Sammy Douglas. He tried to stay clear of people usually but knowing Oswald Cobblepot, he would usually find himself in some kind of trouble, like today for instance. Today he was about to be publicly humiliated in front of the entire school by someone whom he thought could trust, but he was wrong there. Big time!

"Ok then class you are dismissed," the teacher told her class as the pupils began to pack up and make their way out of the classroom. Two students were the last to leave, Oswald and the girl who he had a huge crush on for months now, the popular most beautiful girl in the year group, Maggie Maynard.

Maggie Maynard was certainly a pretty girl; she had shiny locks of golden hair which glistened in the sunlight. Her eyes were green and her face was covered in makeup. She was completely oblivious to Oswald's attraction toward her, but she had half of the year group's boys falling for her so it was no surprise even Oswald was attracted to her. Oswald still had short black hair, but it had grown exceptionally and almost went below his tiny ears. He had taken (or you could say forced) to wearing a posh suit even out of school. His parents encouraged him to be formal, so he did as they instructed.

"So how did you like that lesson?" Oswald asked awkwardly and Maggie looked at him in surprise, was he actually talking to her?

"Uh, it was about as good as lessons go," Maggie replied eyes arching slightly in Oswald's direction. She obviously didn't wish to speak to him but everyone knew how oblivious Oswald was to people not liking him. She continued to pack away her things as he continued to pester her, much to her annoyance.

"So how are you on this fine day?" Oswald smiled placing his work on the teacher's desk and waited for her. She grimaced but forced a smile to avoid any rudeness.

"I am fine," Maggie assured finally placing her pink pencil case into her bag and she decided to exit the classroom, Oswald followed.

"Good," Oswald said now walking along side her.

"Is there something I can do for you Oswald?" Maggie asked with a hint of impatience in her tone, Oswald then began to fidget nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip. Maggie stood there waiting for an answer and he decided to give it to her straight.

"Um no," Oswald began then taking a long breath before finally admitting to her "Maggie, you are a really pretty girl and I like you."

"Uh," Maggie frowned a little in some sort of disgust, she knew where this was going, and it definitely wouldn't end well. "Thank you I Guess."

"Would you like to join me for a drink at the café tomorrow?" Oswald asked grinning hopefully. Maggie's eyes widened and her face was now fully in disgust mode. The little dweeb had just asked her out on a date. Great!

"Uh, sorry Oswald but I'm taken," Maggie said plainly "Sammy Douglas is who I am going out with. Sorry."

"Oh," Oswald frowned "ok then."

"Alright," Maggie said walking past him "now if you'll excuse me I have my next lesson to attend to." She then whispered aloud not realizing he had in fact heard her "who would want to date a walking freak show like you anyway?"

The next day when Oswald walked into school he noticed everyone point and laugh at him. He later found out it was about his feelings for Maggie, she had told the entire school and now he was the laughing stock of the century. As if he wasn't teased enough. But that day marked something, from then on he got bullied a lot more frequently by those who hated him, girls sniggered every time he walked by, and no one showed poor Oswald any respect or admiration. The only things that truly cared for him were his birds, and this was how he began to go down a different past. Yes, at this point onwards he would slowly become the villain he was known for by everyone… Penguin.

…

Over the next decade things had changed yet again. After the recent death of his father who had lost in a battle with pneumonia, his mother had gone into a deep depression and insisted he took his umbrella around with him everywhere he went. A year later she too died after taking her own life and the Cobblepot family were in ruins. His family had gone into debt and the manor was taken over by a different rich family. Oswald himself decided to buy an apartment where he lived with a few trusty birds of his. He trained them, fed them, cleaned them and treated them like they were his children. But his normal life away from the manor didn't last long. He had taken up the nasty habit of stealing from the rich, but not just any old rich people, no. He purposely stole from the ones who had caused misery and pain for him as he grew up. This included a now popular businessman millionaire, Sammy Douglas.

After hiring a few henchmen Oswald had decided to give himself a criminal name, one that had tormented him ever since his childhood. The same name of his now favourite bird, the Penguin. That was his name now. And at the right bold age of twenty six he had taken his time to being a criminal. But around this time a young playboy billionaire called Bruce Wayne would become the Batman, and yet again their fates would be tied again. On the same night Oswald decided to meet an old 'friend' of his.

Oswald's appearance had changed a lot since his teenage years. His had grown slightly larger sideways as well as upwards and had let his hair grow down to his shoulders. He also took to smoking using his father's trusty cigarette holder, one of the few family heirlooms that weren't repossessed with the rest of the manor. He also wore his father's monocle in his right eye, not that he really needed it, but it went with his fashion. These days he wore a black and white suit with a creamy coloured over shirt and a black bow. His name now matched his appearance; he did look remotely similar to an actual penguin. Also he had used the idea of making weapons in his umbrellas, a knife umbrella was his first soon followed by the worlds first shotgun umbrella. He knew his enemies or even the criminals wouldn't take him seriously so he would have to show them. If they didn't do as he wished he would simply blow their heads off, that was the amount of respect he was asking for.

Tonight in particular was a special night for the Penguin and the Batman. Tonight would mark the beginning of many clashes yet to come. Batman had only been on the streets for six months, the police were after him and the criminals feared him. Oswald had heard of the wild vigilante but he didn't fear him. He didn't think he would bother trying to stop his plans tonight, but like the rest of the criminals he had taken down, he never saw it coming.

Sammy Douglas had done well for himself. After graduating university he had opened a company which had grown in power and value over the years, he was now a well respected businessman who had earned a lot of money and now became a millionaire. He had achieved everything Oswald hadn't, and this angered him more than anything. That twofaced idiot didn't deserve this for what he had done to him! What had Oswald managed to achieve in life? His parents had died and left the family in ruins, broke and kicked out of high society. He was disgraced and knew that he wanted revenge on this man for all the rotten and awful things he did to him. And it would begin and end tonight.

"Mr Douglas?" The secretary called from outside his office.

"Yes Miss Jones?"

"It is half past five, may I head home now?"

"Of course Miss Jones, goodnight." Sammy Douglas called from within his office. His secretary had indeed left and he was all alone in this part of the building. After clearing a few things up in the office he filed his paperwork and would soon head home. That was until the receptionist from the bottom floor called him.

"Mr Douglas a, um… distinguished gentlemen has requested to see you. He was accompanied by two men, I sent him up for you."

"What did I tell you about me giving you permission first Mary?" Sammy asked frustrated. "Make another mistake like this and you're out the door. Do you understand?"

"Yes Sir," came a weak reply from the other end of the line. Sammy rolled his eyes and turned his chair so he was facing out of the large window behind his desk. He gazed out at Gotham city, it was turning dark very quickly, but his thoughts were interrupted swiftly when a deep formal voice broke the air.

"You were never good at treating people with respect were you Sammy?"

"Who are you?" Sammy exclaimed eyes widening as three people entered the room. A fat well dressed up man with an umbrella accompanied by two henchmen. And his receptionist had let this guy up? He made the note to fire her.

"Oh dear me," the man replied "don't you recognise the boy you manipulated and humiliated all those years ago?"

"Oswald Cobblepot?"

"The one and only," Oswald said through gritted teeth.

"Oswald old boy, my you have changed. What can I do for you?" Sammy replied standing up cheerfully. Oswald instantly pulled up his umbrella in the mans direction, Sammy didn't realize at the time what the umbrella really was, but he would soon find out.

"Not what," Oswald began "whom is the answer you are looking for."

"Listen if this is about what happened back in our juvenile days, I am sorry," Sammy said calmly placing a hand through his thick neat blonde hair.

"You think that is enough for the torment and torture I suffered with?" Oswald spat as Sammy moved around his table but was halted by Oswald "I would stop there if I were you, not unless you wish to have some bullet holes and blood stains in that nice suit of yours."

"What on earth are you talking about Ozzy?" Sammy smirked not for one minute taking him seriously. Just like old times.

"Don't call me Ozzy you twit!" Oswald shouted angrily "My name is Penguin now! And as for your question, this umbrella isn't just an umbrella. I have tampered around with my umbrellas a bit to make them as weapons. You don't have any idea how you made my life a living hell do you?"

"No," Sammy said cautiously making his way back to his desk pressing the red button underneath his desk.

"Every day I had to put up with you, you and your snot nosed comments to my parents and to my face. I was called hurtful names, humiliated, hated, pushed and pulled and hit by you and your friends and mocked for my looks and the way I was. But no more. Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot will no longer take all of that. If I cannot be loved, I will be feared. All I wanted was respect, and now I shall get it. When I have your pretty boy head on my wall."

"Listen Oswald," Sammy backed away slightly as his heart began to race rapidly. He now knew Oswald was being completely serious and unfortunately for him, he was going to be dead in the hands of a madman who he had partly created. "We can talk about this; it doesn't have to end this way!"

"Oh my dear fellow I think it does," Oswald smirked as a loud click came from his umbrella gun "you know, if it wasn't for you I would've probably never thought of killing or hurting someone but I think that it's about time I stood up for my alter ego. Say goodbye Sammy Douglas, this is for Oswald Cobblepot."

Oswald would've pulled the trigger if it wasn't for an unexpected crash through the window. It was Batman, the one and only dark knight. He swung through the window and the flying glass debris and kicked Oswald onto the floor. Oswald's henchmen tried attacking Batman but unfortunately for them, they weren't the smartest pair around. One tried punching Batman in the face but ended up being pushed by the vigilante into the glass resulting in a few cuts. The other tried dive-bombing him but Batman swerved out of the way and the henchman's head bashed right into the door being knocked out on impact. Oswald watched as the vigilante took down his henchmen and then found that Batman turned to face him. A look of surprise was evident on the young vigilante's face.

"So the tales are true?" Oswald began "Batman does in fact roam in Gotham city."

"Oswald Cobblepot I presume?" Batman began getting a baterang out of his yellow utility belt.

"That is my birth name yes," Oswald noted "but I go by the name Penguin now."

"Alright then Penguin," Batman smirked "looking for some more money to steal?"

"No Batman this time it's personal." Oswald replied still pointing his umbrella weapon at Sammy who gazed nervously between Batman and Oswald.

"Put the gun down Oswald," Batman assured but Oswald didn't resist, instead he just kept pointing the gun at his worst enemy.

"Why should I let this man go after what he has done to ruin my life?"

"He may have tormented you when you were younger but you have to learn to let things go." Batman replied "but why you turned to crime is a mystery yet to be solved."

"I have waited too long for this moment Batman and I am not letting it go to waste because you want me to surrender," Oswald explained about to shoot Sammy.

"No!" Batman leapt and grabbed Oswald as he fired the gun. The bullet unfortunately missed Sammy completely and went straight out of the already broken window from where Batman made his daring entrance. After a struggle on the floor Batman managed to cuff Oswald and leave him on the floor for the Gotham police to sort out. He wasn't just wanted for attempted murder, but theft and breaking and entering also.

What had become of such a sweet and innocent boy? He was now a wanted and well known criminal throughout Gotham city and would get a bad reputation among the other Rogues who had yet to come into being. Over the years his crimes remained the same, thieving from the rich would be his hobby. And if it wasn't for the Batman he would be a very rich man just like his family once were. But after several attempts of being reformed Oswald still found himself going back to Stonegate Penitentiary. That was until he met Abigail Nighting years later. But even then something would change that would turn him back to crime.

Yes the Penguin's life was a sad story, but it would only get sadder as the years went on, and a certain person would have to come to grips with her new life…

Authors note: Ok I know this chapter was no where near as good as I hoped it would be, but it was the best I could do I am afraid. The next chapter goes back into present day and we'll see how Abigail reacts to seeing her scar for the first time. And it won't be good. Anyway in the meantime please review! Thank you!


	10. Chapter 10: Birth of the Nightingale 1

Chapter 10: Birth of the Nightingale part 1 

Authors note: Thank you for the reviews, and I am glad you liked the previous chapter. This is set back in present day and we see Abigail go into a bit of trauma when her damage is revealed. And Oswald will be turning back to his old ways too. Anyway enjoy!

Over the next day Abigail's sight had returned, she was more aware of her surroundings and of me. I was so relieved when the doctor told me that her sight was back, but I never believed it would turn out like this. My love, she was broken down and melted like a piece of hot metal. This incident had hit her hard, harder than I originally thought. Now I knew those thugs would pay more than ever! I now had Sheldrake, Eagleton and Falcone on my side again and they would do a very important thing for me later on. But I didn't wish to tell Abigail that I had gone back to criminal activities, not yet anyway. Besides I wasn't fully going back to being a criminal, and if I were I would already have Batman and Gotham PD on my tail. But I didn't. No the Penguin wasn't going to steal from the rich, not this time. No he was just going to stand up for the woman who he loved and take care of a few problems. This time it wasn't about the money or the thrill of being a criminal. This time it was personal. And neither Batman nor any of his sidekicks or the police were going to stop me. All I wanted was a bit of happiness in my life, and Abigail is the only thing that has truly made my life truly content again. But after those brutes did this to her, there will be hell to pay! And as I usually said to my henchmen, "may heaven. Help. Them. All."

I decided to pop round Abigail's apartment before I went to the hospital. She had given me the key the first time I had visited her and trusted me to take care of it among other things. I had decided to get her a few things from her apartment for her and one thing for me. As I walked into the room I could feel a cold atmosphere, was the window open? Or was it just me? It could've been the tension in me after all of the recent events but I didn't know. It just didn't feel right. I walked over to her mantle and glanced over at the pictures she had on there. There was one in particular that stood out for me. One picture of her, obviously taken recently, looked really beautiful. She wore her Nightingale outfit and held a bird in her hands. But it wasn't Claw; for once this was an entirely different bird, not even a bird of prey. No, the Nightingale was indeed holding a nightingale bird in her hands. She had a sweet and innocent smile on her already pretty features, and her long flowing brown hair swayed in the wind. She was indeed beautiful. Whatever did I do to deserve her?

I picked up the photo and decided to keep it; I then picked up her requested items and departed from the building. I kept the photo in my inside pocket in my coat, I felt that I would need it later on. I left for the hospital that day expecting her to be her happy cheerful self, but unfortunately for me, I didn't know the full story and how bad the damage was under all of those bandages. But I would be seeing it, and as for Abigail. My darling Abigail. She would take it hard, really hard! There was no going back now.

…

Around one o'clock in the afternoon many visitors came to visit their loved ones in the hospital wards. It was quite busy but not very hectic in the severe burns unit. Oswald made his way down the corridor with a few belongings he had picked from her house before hand. He was smiling, but when he stopped outside Abigail's room the doctor approached him from one of the other rooms. He looked remorseful. This wasn't going to be good.

"Ah Mr Cobblepot," the doctor began as he made his way over to Oswald cautiously.

"How is she?" Oswald enquired waiting for the bad news to spill out.

"She can see again."

"Thank goodness," Oswald breathed clutching his chest in relief. Little did he know there was more.

"I wouldn't be too relieved Mr Cobblepot," the doctor explained "after giving her a minor sedative we took a look at her right eye. I am afraid it isn't good."

"Can anything be done to treat it?" Oswald hoped that there was a way, but something in his heart told him otherwise.

"We aren't sure," the doctor replied "we may be able to get a good plastic surgeon to cover the scars but her eye itself is too damaged for anything."

"I see," Oswald said plainly looking down at the floor sadly "may I see her?"

"Yes," the doctor finally said as he walked away "but be gentle with her, she hasn't seen the damage yet."

Oswald watched the doctor depart into the next room. He shut his eyes tightly and breathed in deep, this news was grim indeed. He wondered if Abigail knew, but he'd dread to think how she would react to this sort of thing. After a few moments he gained enough courage to knock on the door and slowly enter the room. There sat a fully alert Abigail with one eye covered up and the other moving freely again. He smiled and made his way over to the visitor's chair.

"Good afternoon my love," Oswald said as he sat down. Abigail grinned but blushed at the same time.

"I am going to have to get used to you saying that," Abigail smirked "oh I see you brought the things I requested?"

"Yes, your magazine, your boiled sweets and your pictures, as you requested," Oswald explained handing them to her.

"Thank you," Abigail then leaned and kissed his cheek affectionately and he rubbed the spot tenderly as she pulled away. He then turned and noticed that above them the television was on. It was the news of the past few days. As Abigail looked through the things he had brought her Oswald sat and watched as the news reporter spoke on how Batman had managed to save detective Bullock from Two-face. Oh what a surprise there then.

"And after four days of being held hostage, Batman finally saved detective Harvey Bullock from the crazed psychotic Two-face. Unfortunately, after a struggle Two-face managed to escape, ditching his henchmen who are currently being questioned by the police. Where has this madman gone off to? And where will he strike next?"

"I see they have rescued detective Bullock from Two-face," Oswald noted as the reporter began to report something else. Abigail simply placed the items on her bedside table and then took his hand in hers.

"I'm glad you're with me," she said completely changing the subject "I hope I am not a burden to you."

"Not at all my dear," Oswald replied "I have nothing better to do with my time anyway." Oswald then remembered the meeting he would have with his previous henchmen later this evening _'accept get revenge for you of course'_ he thought to himself.

Abigail smiled weakly before their attentions were once again drawn by the TV. This time it was a report about them, and the two people behind the entire thing.

"Now on to other news now," the reporter began as a picture of Abigail and Oswald appeared on the screen side by side "After a miraculous yet jaw dropping save by Oswald Cobblepot, previously known as the Penguin, Abigail Nighting is currently recovering in hospital after this incident caught on camera happened at one of her shows three days ago."

Oswald noticed Abigail go tense as the video of the incident began to play over, it showed the entire thing. Matt and Jack firing their guns, people scurrying away in a mad panic and Abigail being knocked unconscious as her face was eaten away by the fire. Then out of nowhere Oswald appeared and picked her up out of the flames. The video even showed him crying, much to his current embarrassment. At the end of the video the reporter continued to speak.

"Gotham PD are currently trying to track down the two criminals now known as Mathew Wright and Jack Coles. It is still unknown why the Penguin saved this woman but it is rumoured that they share a romantic attraction. Further information will be revealed after Miss Nighting's recovery. We can only hope she gets well soon, back to you David."

Abigail picked up the remote that lay on her lap on the bed and switched the TV off. She placed a shaky hand on the right hand side of her face and began to feel her bandage. She was interrupted by her thoughts when a very concerned pair of eyes got her attention. Oswald placed his hand on her other hand and decided to speak softly.

"Are you alright my dear?"

"Did, did that really happen like that?" Abigail stammered receiving a nod from Oswald.

"I am afraid so," Oswald said awkwardly pursing his lips and glancing at the floor blankly.

"Right then," Abigail said as she began to tear away the bandages that kept her scars hidden. Oswald's head rose back up and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Abigail, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" Abigail spat agitatedly as she tore away the last parts of the bandages. She then felt her eye and once revealed to Oswald, he gasped obviously taken aback by what he had just saw and took one of his hands to his mouth. Her eyes widened in terror. "What? Is it that bad?"

"Abigail, I-" Oswald began but soon got cut off by Abigail again as she pointed towards the unit that had a small mirror on it.

"Give me that mirror."

"Abigail are you sure it's not too soon-?"

"Damn it Oswald just give me the blasted mirror!" Abigail demanded as Oswald slowly handed her the mirror clenching his eyes tightly bracing for impact as Abigail took a first peak at her own scars. He felt the urge to break down in tears, but he knew he would have to be strong, for Abigail's sake as well as his own.

A loud horror stricken gasp came from Abigail's mouth. Her left eye was as wide as they could possibly reach and her mouth formed an O shape as her lip quivered violently. Oswald re-opened his eyes when a loud smashing sound pierced his ears. His eyes looked sorrowfully at Abigail. She was at a loss for words, but she was shaking violently and her expression was a mixture of shock, sadness, and even anger.

Her right eye was completely faded, obviously severely damaged and now permanently blinded; it had a rush of bloody red through the corners. Around the outskirts of her eye were very severe burns obviously where the fire had eaten away the flesh. It was dark red and the scabs were a pinkish colour. The scar reached to her cheek but didn't touch her nose or her hair, just the eye area of the right side of her face.

"I cannot see," Abigail muttered with a panicky tone. She then repeated herself even louder practically screaming "I CANNOT SEE!"

"Abigail, please," Oswald placed a weak hand on her shoulder as she continued to squirm in a fit of panic and anger.

"I look horrible Oswald! I mean look at me! My life is in ruins! I cannot see out of my right eye and I look hideous!" Abigail exclaimed dramatically throwing her arms around the place as tears began to form in both her eyes. "Everyone is going to treat me like a freak now and my career is over! I'll become a laughing stock to the media and the public and I'll probably loose my job and all that I hold dear to me! Oh Oswald, what will become of me?"

Abigail then broke down in tears and almost instantly fell into Oswald's stomach for comfort. He placed his arms around her and comforted her as she wept. He wasn't expecting her to break down like this, but at the same time he had. He couldn't blame her, not one bit. He too would feel physical and emotional pain if he had been through what she had. But he hadn't so he couldn't fully understand what she was going through. He placed a flipper like hand on her head and began to stroke her hair and the other hand was placed on her waist. He cooed and hushed her as much as he could but she continued to weep erratically. Oswald now felt like crying himself. His eyes had actually filled with water but he tried as hard as he could to keep them back. His heart had dropped to see his love like this, crying, screaming and being ashamed of herself, these were his worst visions. Once a great ambitious woman had now became an emotion filled shell. It made his whole body shiver to its core, he was now extremely angry, determined and now ruthless to get back at those cads for what they had now done to her. They had not only affected her appearance and sight, but now her mental capabilities. She would be avenged, if it was the last thing he would ever do.

"I don't know," Oswald finally replied his voice barely a sorrowful whisper "but let me tell you something Abigail Nighting. I love you and I will never leave you, not even after all that has happened."

"Oh Oswald," Abigail grabbed him tightly her voice muffled through tears "what would I ever do without you?"

"I don't know my love," Oswald whispered as a single tear came out of his eye as they clenched shut "I just don't know."

…

"Boss? Ya home?"

"I don't think he's at home Eagleton."

"Well what do we do then?"

"There's a spear key around here, I learned this a few years ago when he brought us here after that big bird heist. Ah, here it is."

Eagleton, Falcone and Sheldrake had indeed arrived on time (for a change) at Oswald's apartment to find that he in fact wasn't there. After managing to find the spear key and enter his apartment to await his return, the henchmen entered casually even though they didn't know someone was at home.

"Oh my God!" Sheldrake yelled as out of nowhere a squawking bird of prey dive-bombed him and began chasing him around the room.

"One of Cobblepot's pesky pets I presume," Eagleton said casually slumping down into the chair as he watched his companion run berserk trying to get the bird to leave him alone.

"GET THIS BIRD OFF OF ME!" Sheldrake screamed and Falcone decided to aid his partner by attempting to grab the bird and control it, but he failed miserably. They usually left the bird controlling to their boss and they were only there to help aid him with his heists. They didn't like birds and often made fun of them without realizing it, much to the Penguin's displeasure.

Eagleton's gaze was soon taken away from his companions and onto the door which slowly began to open. There stepped inside a very worn down and depressed Oswald Cobblepot, his head raised as he heard a loud crash and a screech from the other end of the room. He noticed his former henchmen Sheldrake and Falcone running around the room like raved lunatics as Claw chased them around the place, he also noticed Eagleton was slumped on his furniture lazily without any manners what so ever. Yes, this was a usual for him when he was around these bozos but today he wasn't in the mood or the right frame of mind to handle this.

"Claw, away," Oswald commanded and suddenly Claw heard Oswald's commands and flew over to him. Sheldrake came out of his flinched position and gave a big sigh of relief as Oswald entered the room with Claw perched comfortably on his arm.

"Boss, boy are we glad to see you," Sheldrake grinned but Oswald didn't, he then pointed dramatically at Claw as he continued to speak "since when did you keep that… THING for a pet?"

"I am merely taking care of him for a friend as all," Oswald explained placing Claw on his perch before taking something, a picture frame to be specific, out of his pocket and glanced down at it.

"What you got there Boss?" Falcone asked curiously as he stood behind him glancing down at the photo "my is that the girl we've heard so much about. She's quite a looker, you sly old fox you."

"Yeah Boss," Eagleton smirked "do tell us how you managed to win her over."

"It doesn't matter," Oswald muttered as he sat down on his sofa in a gentleman like position, unlike Eagleton who looked like a couch potato the way he spread himself out. "What matters is what I have called you all over for."

"Yeah Boss, we were wondering about that," Sheldrake replied walking over.

"I need you to go to the Gotham hall of records and find two files," Oswald explained and his associates exchanged glances before replying.

"Gee Boss," Eagleton began "do you recall the last time you sent us there?"

"Yes quite well," Oswald said calmly "as I remember Batgirl caught you and managed to knock you all unconscious and handed you over to the Commissioner before you could even give me the blasted file on Rupert Thorne!"

"Exactly," Sheldrake spoke "so why do you want to send us there again?"

"Because this is a personal matter I wish to resolve. Now are you three interested or not?"

"I know what this is about," Falcone said slyly "it's about that woman isn't it? You want to get back at the men who hurt her don't you?"

"It is more than that you simpleton!" Oswald snapped "she has been hurt physically and mentally and she is blinded in one eye thanks to those brutes! All I wanted was to be a happy civilian with her by my side but they decided to ruin that and thought they could get away with it, but they were wrong. I want you three to find the files on these two thugs so I can personally take them down and kill them."

"But Boss, what about the ransom demands you usually give out? Just killing people isn't your style. That's what Joker and Two-face do on a daily basis but since when did the Penguin do that sort of thing?"

"Since the day my dear Abigail's world crumbled. Money isn't an issue this time Eagleton," Oswald continued "I only wish to see my Abigail smile again instead of weep. Now I need to know whether you are on my side or not, or else I will have to find some henchmen who will do as I instruct them."

"You really do care for her don't you Boss?" Sheldrake's eye arched as he smirked mischievously "you've changed. You're no longer that same Gotham Rogue you once were."

"You may be right there Sheldrake," Oswald noted "but I still know how to put the fear of God into people, and I don't need to be Scarecrow to do that."

"So what you gonna do now you've turned back to crime Boss?" Eagleton asked "you gonna include the bird lady in this?"

"Not unless it's absolutely necessary. I'd rather keep her out of this; I don't wish to see her become what I have."

"So when do we begin Boss?" Falcone finally asked.

"Tomorrow night," Oswald explained "I want you to find all that you can on Mathew Wright and Jack Coles. And once you do, we'll find them, kidnap them and do away with them for good."

"But what if Batman get's involved?"

"Then we'll do what every other criminal has failed to do in the past," Oswald smirked wickedly "we'll kill him and the bat brats too!"

The Penguin was now back in action, but this time he actually had a reason for his crimes. This wasn't driven by greed or money related things, no this time it was driven by grief and anger. He would have his revenge. And he would do whatever it took to make his life sweet again. Abigail couldn't do anything currently as she was still recovering, but even though Oswald didn't wish to involve her in this, she already was involved whether he liked it or not. He had no idea that she too wanted what he wished for, revenge. She was such a kind woman to ever think of such thoughts when she was just Abigail Nighting, but that incident had changed things. Forever. Things weren't going back to the way they were. The tables had turned, and very soon something would emerge in Abigail Nighting which had never happened before. And it all started with one key moment which would drive her over the edge. Just like Oswald when he was younger, she too would feel rejected to the point when she would have no choice but to go down a path she never intended to go on. But it was a certain fate now. She and the Penguin were destined to be together, but not just romantically. Oh no, something was about to happen which even the worst of Gotham's Rogues would be shocked about. And it would all start the next day when a surprising visitor came along and did something he would soon regret…

Authors note: Ok I know this chapter is much shorter than the last one but like the title implies it's a two-part chapter. So how did you like it? Poor Abigail. Now she too will be turning down a dark path thanks to her eye being damaged. Makes you want to kill those guys huh? Well don't worry they'll get what they deserve along with another person later on. Also I am wondering whether any of you wish to know more about Abigail's past? Please tell me in the reviews as I already have an idea of what I will write about, it won't be as specific as Oswald's but it will show a past scene with her admiring Oswald when he is the Penguin before they meet. Anyway please review and I should update soon! Thank you!


	11. Chapter 11: Birth of the Nightingale 2

Chapter 11: Birth of the Nightingale part 2 

Authors note: Thanks guys for the reviews and watches etc. I really do appreciate the support I am getting throughout this story. Firstly **Princess Gakoshi** I definitely know what you're saying because Two-face is mentioned several times in this chapter. Also don't worry there is more to the plot that meets the eye, but you are on the right lines. And also **The witch dove black **Penguin won't be the psycho one (well not fully like you said) but I'll let you judge that for yourself. Now this chapter (unfortunately) doesn't have Oswald in it. Sorry, but I have to base it on Abigail. She is going to change BIG TIME in this chapter. I promise Oswald will be in the next chapter as will the other characters. Oh and by the way, if you don't already hate Mr Hail, you'll definitely hate him by the end of this chapter. But he'll get what's coming to him, eventually.

A nightingale. A beautiful yet small bird. But even the smallest things could be deadly as the people of Gotham would soon find out. Of course a nightingale isn't a bird of prey, but it still holds its graceful and unique qualities, its bird songs in particular are something which any bird lover would like to hear. But even though a nightingale is a bird, it still isn't related to a penguin. They share no similarities what so ever, they live in different continents for starters. But somehow Gotham city was home to both a Penguin and a Nightingale, and somehow they would share more similarities than the birds ever did.

…

I always loved birds, even from an early age. And despite my parent's wishes to be an average girl with average friends, I knew I could never be what they wished me to be. I was always the kind of girl who kept a bird book nearby in school with a trusty pair of binoculars to study the birds while the other children played ball. I also had a natural talent of taming birds, that is why I always wanted to be bird trainer and not a doctor or a lawyer what my parents wanted me to be. I guess that is why my father grew to hate me so much, because I defied him. Just because I wanted to live my own life and not be in someone else's shadow, and that is why he abused me. Yes that's right, I left that key detail out didn't I? He hit me every now and then to try and make me be like him, but instead it changed me in a different way. It persuaded me to never be like him.

And how did I get involved with one of Gotham's roughest Rogues you ask? Well it wasn't just our encounter in that alleyway that crazy night that intrigued me about him. The first time I laid eyes on him, back when I was an amateur bird trainer, I knew he was a mystery that no one truly understood. Every time he made the headlines I always paid close attention. And his bird Scrap couldn't be tamed by anyone, anyone but me anyway. That is what landed me a job as a bird trainer for Gotham zoo, after taming that rogue vulture of the Penguin's I got promoted and my career took off. I guess I owe Oswald Cobblepot for everything. He saved my life twice, got me my career and stood by me even now. And this is why I love him, plus his charming nature of course.

But recently over this past week my life has changed loads. I feel as if I am becoming an entirely new person, and this scares me a little. Oswald wasn't the only thing that had impacted my life. That incident and my now disfigured eye had scarred me not only physically but mentally also. I guess I now knew how Harvey Dent felt when he found half of his face was disfigured by that acid after his apparent blackmail by Rupert Thorne. But he had chosen to go down a dark psychotic path and become a super villain now the feared Two-face. He was scarred so much that his multiple personality had taken over him entirely. Now that was a path I didn't intend to go down. But I never realized something would snap in me that very afternoon which would change my entire life for good, and turn me down my own little dark path…

…

"Miss Nighting, you have a visitor," a nurse from the severe burns unit told her from just outside the room. Abigail's face formed a sudden grin as she figured it would be the same and only person who had visited her ever since the incident. Her right eye was now bandaged back up yet again after the situation yesterday to allow her scars to heal, not to mention her sanity for seeing them as she did, and if it wasn't for Oswald's comfort she'd of probably turned out just like Two-face and Joker. Insane!

"Oswald?"

"No I'm afraid I am not your charming bird man friend Miss Nighting," a very crude and obnoxious sounding voice came from behind the door. Abigail's face instantly fell at the sound of the voice, which was definitely not her Oswald. Oswald's voice was way too sweet and gentle to be like that, plus his accent was much more fluent in sounding posh than this person. No unfortunately she knew that voice, and it would soon reveal what she feared. The voice belonged to none other than Mr Hail.

"Oh I am sorry Mr Hail, I was just expecting Mr Cobblepot to visit me at this hour," Abigail apologised as Mr Hail walked in the room and shut the door behind him. He carried that same unimpressed stare that he always wore around her as he sat down in the visitor chair doing his best to be elegant.

"Yes I have heard of your dealings with the Penguin Miss Nighting," Mr Hail began distastefully "but like a lot of people I only had the impression you had no relations with him, until now of course."

"What are you implying Mr Hail?" Abigail's eyebrow arched slightly, she knew that like everything else in her life he disapproved of Oswald. Probably because when Oswald was the Penguin he stole countless birds from Gotham zoo for his own personal pleasure, and that cost money, oh that precious money Mr Hail cared so passionately about.

"Drop it Miss Nighting, you are romantically involved with Oswald Cobblepot are you not?"

"Mr Hail," Abigail spoke defensively "since when does my personal life concern you?"

"No denying it I see," Mr Hail continued "please do tell me why such a criminal like him miraculously saves a plain woman like you from a fire at the zoo. Is it your interest in birds which attracts him? Or just the fact you are his first ever lover considering no one else would touch him?"

"Mr Hail!" Abigail snapped viciously. She was no doubt surprised by the way he was speaking. He entered the room with some attitude and was now throwing his weight around acting as if Oswald were some kind of animal. Also he was accusing her of such personal matters which were none of his business. Abigail decided to be swift and change the subject before she turned violent and angry with the insults he was letting out with ease. "Any particular reason you made time out of your busy schedule to visit me? Or did you just come to rant about my personal life?"

"Yes Miss Nighting this isn't a social visit I am afraid," Mr Hail began sounding his professional self again "After the incident the other day which cost the zoo a lot of money I have been forced to make some changes."

"What kind of changes are we talking about here?"

"Look Miss Nighting," Mr Hail sighed and slipped his glasses off looking her in the left eye seriously. "You've changed. Not just with your ambitions but appearance wise also. We all feel for you after what happened and we know how much pain you must have gone through to get your scars, but…"

"But?"

"I'm afraid due to what has happened I have no choice but to fire you from Gotham zoo."

Abigail just froze. She had visions of this happening but now the moment had actually come, she had no idea how to react. Usually Abigail Nighting would take it calmly and just ask a couple of questions before dropping the matter and moving on. But Abigail Nighting was a changed woman, Mr Hail knew this, but he underestimated her new found capabilities.

"It's about my appearance isn't it? You don't want a half blinded scarred woman scaring the children and people do you?" Abigail snapped temperamentally. He was obviously taken aback by her tone and was silent several moments to compose what he was going to say next.

"We have considered that," Mr Hail muttered weakly "but that isn't the only reason."

"What else?" Abigail glared clenching her fists together tightly. If there was something else other than her appearance there was obviously something about her personal life which bothered or even threatened him. It couldn't be Oswald, Could it?

"Well there was the thing about your sight and your now revealed relationship with the well known criminal Penguin. We can't have the bad publicity and you will only make things-"

"What?" Abigail spat "worse? You are a pathetic man Mr Hail. For years I have had to put up with you and your pushy attitude towards me. Nothing I did ever impressed you and now after I loose my sight in my right eye you think I am incapable of training my birds. And not only that, you tell me that my personal life isn't right. So I may be associated with Oswald Cobblepot but that is the least I can do after all he has done for me. He has saved me twice from the same attackers, cared for me like no other and now he loves me for who I am. You cannot tell me how to run my life! And if you think a thing like gaining some scars is going to stop me from doing what I do best, well you have another thing coming!"

"If you are quite finished Miss Nighting," Mr Hail said quite calmly yet arrogantly "I really don't care if you got saved by the Penguin by those miscreants, in my opinion he is a miscreant after all he has done to destroy this zoo in the past. And if you love him, you'll turn out just like him. A common bird thief. I don't want an associate of the Penguin's working at my zoo! Plus you now have the disadvantage of not seeing properly so it could endanger you and I am not prepared to take the media on if anything happened to you."

"That is the Mr Hail I know," Abigail said coldly obviously not at all surprised by his harsh words "the one who is so self righteous that he does not care for anyone other than himself. You don't care about the impact on me, just the publicity for your damn zoo! Well if you won't let me train birds there I guess I'll have to prove you wrong!"

"And how do you think you'll do that?" Mr Hail crossed his arms "who will take you on while you look like this?"

He had struck a nerve. A big deep one. Abigail felt for the first time in her life a giant cloud of anger boil insider her. Her former employer was insulting her freely for her appearance among other things. For the first time in her life she was resulted to the point when she could've killed him. All it would take would be her slender hands around his chubby neck and he would be history, but then she would become a criminal, but in all truth would that be a bad thing? She hadn't considered the option beforehand but she was a normal average woman back then. Now she was in fact a freak, a half blinded scarred freak, with no job and nothing to live for anymore. Her life had been shattered like a bullet through glass and three people were to blame. The only thing she now held on to was the thought of Oswald being there for her, which was enough to keep her sane. But it still didn't stop those dark thoughts creeping into her head.

Abigail glared daggers at her former employer and snarled whilst clenching her hands tightly into fists. She had never felt this angry towards anyone but her father in her life time, but with that it was more depressing more than frustrating because all the way through her childhood all she wanted was to be loved by her father and most of the time he hit her. But with this it was completely different. Mr Hail was being a cruel man with no consideration for her feelings, and he would soon regret that. Big time!

"I think you should leave," Abigail began calmly through clenched teeth as Mr Hail scoffed.

"Excuse me?"

"You have insulted me in every possible way and I have nothing pleasant to say. Now get out of my sight before I do something you will regret!"

"Is that a threat Miss Nighting?" Mr Hail smirked "my, my, the Penguin has trained you well. You were always ambitious but you never once threatened someone."

"Things change," Abigail noted before turning more serious once again "you may have taken everything away from me that I hold dear but if you think I am just going to sit here like I usually did and do nothing, you are obviously mistaken. You'll pay for this Mr Hail!"

"What are you going to do?" Mr Hail stood up obviously not taking her seriously much to his own mistake "listen Miss Nighting, you're confused, angry and still recovering after your apparent trauma. You'll take me seriously later on and appreciate my decision in time. Idle threats will get you no where. And as for these threats, what makes you think I am afraid of you? You're just a small defenceless woman who ever since being associated with a well know criminal, seems to think she can be feared like him. Now I must leave you now, I wish you the best of luck in your life. Goodbye Miss Nighting."

"Yes you run you coward!" Abigail roared in anger as Mr Hail exited the room in a mad dash. He knew she was furious with his words and his decision to fire her, but he underestimated her. "You'll pay for this! The Nightingale will no longer be a name to be loved, rather now be feared! You'll regret this decision for the rest of your miserable life! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

After knowing he was gone Abigail began to shiver violently. She wasn't just shaking in a furious rage, but in fear and sadness also. What was she becoming? First a blinded and permanently scarred eye, then being mocked and fired from her job by her own employer. Of course she was now having psychotic thoughts, murder and mayhem was on the brain now. Her insides felt like an active volcano with a large yet long eruption. Her trauma had obviously affected her mentally and the scars ran throughout her mind like they did across her face. Right now all she wanted was revenge. Not only on Matt and Jack, but Mr Hail also. Those three people had caused her so much anguish and it was their faults for creating her. Abigail knew she was no longer the same woman she was a week before. Oswald was probably the main cause of this, all of these events had happened since she had met him. But she didn't blame him. She blamed them.

Clutching her chest tightly breathing heavily Abigail's head raced around the room as voices taunted her inside her head. She felt like she was loosing her mind, she was going crazy! This was the last thing she wanted. She knew if she spent anymore time stuck in this hospital she would probably end up in Arkham Asylum with the crazies like Two-face and Joker who had, in some ways, gone through similar traumas to her own. There was only one thing to do.

"I have to get out of here," Abigail said to herself as she took the blanket off of her bed and spun her body so she sat upright on the left hand side of the bed. She tore away the bandages that kept her eye covered and grabbed some shoes from nearby the bed. After slipping them on she decided to sprint out of the hospital room in a mad panic. Of course no matter how careful she was, she still got noticed by the hospital staff as she sprinted for the elevator past the reception desk. It was pretty obvious considering all that she was dressed in was a blue hospital nightgown.

"HEY STOP!" One of the security men nearby ordered chasing after Abigail. She turned around and pushed a trolley full of bandages in front of the man slowing him down for just enough time for her to get to the elevator. Abigail was in a state of panic, anger, and a saddened rage which caused frustrated tears to treacle down her face, even on her scarred eye. Abigail managed to get the doors to close once the security guard was about to charge inside. Pressing the button for the ground floor Abigail felt her right eye and threw her fist at the wall in a rage, a small yell of agony mixed with frustration came out of her dry mouth. Abigail kept her head leant against the metal wall of the elevator until she reached the ground floor.

Once the doors opened Abigail knew she would just run as fast as she could to the exit. She wasn't thinking straight currently so she just did what her instincts told her and run. Not realizing that the severe burns ward had contacted the ground floor desk and on the other end of the elevator and guards were waiting for her to escort her back to her room, Abigail just planned a quick and clean escape. But it would be anything but that. As the doors opened Abigail prepared herself to sprint out again in a mad rush but instead two men cornered her before she could escape the elevator.

Abigail gasped when she saw the two guards approaching her. Suddenly flashbacks came back from the same night she was cornered by the two same men who had ruined her life. Both guards' faces turned to that of Matt and Jack pointing guns towards her, grinning menacingly. Abigail backed up against the wall and began to hyperventilate in fear. As the visions continued to spin around in her head Abigail heard one of the guards speak, but unfortunately it wasn't in the guard's actual voice, instead his voice had transferred to that low menacing voice that belonged to Matt.

"Come on lady, we won't hurt you," the guard spoke gently, but in Abigail's head it was anything but gentle. It was a menacingly deathly voice and all of this brought visions of that night back to her head. Abigail turned her head away and then back again and a sudden look of determination and a hint of anger came back on her features.

"NO!" Abigail screamed as she shoved past the two guards. Surprisingly to her and even them, she had caught them by surprise, so much surprise that she managed to run straight through the tall manly built guards and they fell over. But Abigail didn't notice this. All she did was look straight ahead and run. Dashing towards the exit she began to gasp for air, but her feet continued to go. She would not stop, not for anyone.

After rushing outside the hospital Abigail was now on the busy street of Gotham city. She stopped to catch her breath while average citizens walked past trying to continue with their daily lives. She clutched her face with both of her hands as she stood at the centre of the street trying to gain her breath, but now she was practically in tears at this point which made her breathing very difficult. It wasn't until a hand touched her trembling shoulder that she looked up to see two pairs of concerned eyes.

"Hey lady," the woman called out comfortingly as her male companion held his hand on her shoulder "are you alright?"

Abigail didn't reply. Instead she just took her hands away from her face and revealed the right side of her face to the couple. Both the man and the woman gasped in utter terror and the man instantly released his grasp on her shoulder.

"Oh my God," the man breathed grabbing his partners hand and dragged her away from Abigail quickly "Sarah let's get out of here now!"

Abigail's attention darted around the streets where now other people had stopped and were in fact staring at her. It was a dark day and it had just began to rain from the black clouds above her, amongst the murmurs from the crowd of people that had now gathered around her, Abigail picked up several things like _'that poor woman'_ or 'oh _my gosh look at her face'_. Abigail just stood there for a moment as her lip began to tremble violently and a few wining sounds came from her mouth. She then decided to put an end to her current public humiliation and embarrassment and ran off.

She ran as far as her legs could carry her. She kept going and going as she ran through the streets of Gotham without the slightest hesitation of stopping. Even when she was practically gasping for air she continued to run, she had never ran this distance before in her entire life. After running constantly for over ten minutes she came upon a familiar sight. Her apartment building. Abigail ran throughout the building and once she made it to her apartment she immediately slammed the door behind her and leant against the door whilst gaining what energy she lost during her sprint here. After collapsing to nothing more than a ball completely relying on the door for support she managed to gain control of her emotions and get her act together, well… sort of.

After a good five minutes of getting her breath back Abigail stood up and headed over to her answering machine. Unfortunately her answering machine lay on a table just above a mirror so now Abigail could see full on what everyone was making a fuss over. And as she had found out the day before, her scars were not pretty. And it wasn't just the scars which frightened her, she couldn't see at all in her right eye and she now had to depend on her left eye to guide her throughout the rest of her miserable life. That fire must've ate at her skin for some time to cause this much damage, she dreaded to think what she would've looked like if Oswald hadn't of swooped in and saved her yet again. Abigail idly pressed her answering machine button not for one second taking her eye off of the reflection that stood before her. She now looked like a completely different person. Abigail Nighting was no more, oh no something else was now made and all it took was a couple of scars to do it.

As several messages from the past few days relayed over the answering machine aloud Abigail breathed in and out heavily. She was surprisingly calm giving the current situation she was in. Just think how Harvey Dent reacted when he saw his scars, he ran out of the hospital, just like Abigail, and took to his other personality Two-face. Abigail on the other hand reacted differently when she saw her scars; she would've probably run out of the hospital if it wasn't for Oswald being there at the time. But this time she was provoked by Mr Hail and that had driven her over the edge. All of that anger filled emotion consumed within her from over the years had finally showed their true colours. Poor Abigail had been through so much and now it was finally catching up with her.

The time she lost it entirely was when a message from five days ago played. It was a message from Mr Hail, and it reminded her of so much that she was once again driven over the edge again.

"Hello Miss Nighting, I wish to hold a meeting with you concerning your job. I'm afraid we have to make some cut backs regarding your show, please attend my office tomorrow morning or else I will be required to fire you."

Abigail let out a loud scream of fury and grabbed her answering machine and threw it at the mirror. Obviously the smashing sound would've disturbed her neighbours but she hardly cared anymore. Abigail was in full rage mode currently and all it took was a past message from her ex-boss to make her loose it completely. Running into her bedroom Abigail grabbed and pulled back her wardrobe doors and grabbed a specific clothing out of the wardrobe and took it over to her dresser where her embroidery items were kept. It was her Nightingale outfit. That one with the creamy over-shirt with long sleeves and a bow on the white undershirt, the same one with creamy shorts to match with the top itself. As she laid it on the table she began ripping the sleeves as if it were a stress relieving toy. The sleeves, now torn into a certain way, were now finished in her opinion. She then pressed her attention to the outfit itself, nothing else really needed adjusting. She tore the buttons off of the over-shirt and sew up the remaining holes and made it like an over jacket. And after a few more minor adjustments she placed down her sewing pin and picked up the outfit and grinned wickedly.

After changing from her hospital nightgown to her new and improved outfit she tied her long brown hair back neatly in her usual style with a black bow and did the same with the bow that was attached to her undershirt. And as she examined herself in the mirror she finally spoke for the first time since she entered her apartment. A small yet deadly grin attached to her tiny features as she spoke menacingly.

"Watch out Gotham," Abigail began smirking at her own reflection "tonight another Rogue was born. And her name is now… the Nightingale."

Authors note: Now I know what you're thinking! Abigail has taken the loopy road like the Arkham Asylum crazies right? Well this is just about as psychopathic she is going to get. She isn't going to be clinically insane, instead she just has some anger issues, but hey who doesn't? Anyway this chapter was meant to represent how she takes the dark road and becomes the Nightingale. The Penguin is now back in action and now he has the Nightingale with him. Well, he may have some issues to begin with perhaps. But anyway, I shall update soon. Also how would you feel if I gave you a bit more about Abigail's past? I mentioned an abusive father in this chapter; want to see a bit of it? Please tell me and please review! Thank you!


	12. Chapter 12: Of Penguins and Nightingales

Chapter 12: Of Penguin's and Nightingale's

Authors note: Thank you for the reviews for the last chapter. As promised Oswald is in this chapter and I have also added a little bit of fluffiness to the scenes with him and Abigail. Be warned they will be like this on and off throughout the rest of the story as they are a couple now. Anyway firstly **Princess Gakoshi **I am surprised you figured that out. I will admit I did use the Catwoman scene in 'Batman returns' as inspiration for that scene but I tried my best not to make it obvious. It wasn't was it? Anyway for all of you who love this story, enjoy!

The people of Gotham city were now rushing home in a mad frenzy. What started out as rain had now swiftly turned to a rather large thunderstorm. Lightning illuminated the black sky like a midnight disco and thunder echoed amongst the city noises of car horns and emergency sirens that were a usual in this city on a day to day basis. Above the streets of Gotham was Oswald Cobblepot's apartment building. Tonight he was having a little quiet evening at home whilst the storm passed. Of course he was taking care of Claw for Abigail and unfortunately the buzzard didn't like storms, but it wasn't so bad for him to know he had Oswald there for him.

Around six o'clock in the evening Oswald decided to get out of his chair after reading a good book and prepare some food for the bird of prey, also he decided to make himself a sandwich but in all truth he wasn't all that hungry. He knew this was caused by worry, he was worrying for Abigail. All alone in that hospital room traumatized and upset by all that had occurred over the past few days. It broke his heart. And this was why he would soon get to work as soon as his henchmen visited him with the files he requested.

"Here you go Claw," Oswald said softly as he placed down a plate of prepared meat cuts on the side table and patted the buzzards head as he ate the meat hungrily. Oswald had noticed that Claw continuously looked for Abigail, she was his mother bird and without her he was lost. Even though Oswald was now a father bird to Claw he still knew that he missed his mother. And he wasn't the only one.

"Yes I know, I miss her too," Oswald muttered then leaving the bird to devour the remains of his meal. Oswald walked over to the balcony window and gazed out as the rain bounced off the ground and the thunder echoed with the loud and brutal winds. His eyes arched up in a certain way, he knew something wasn't right. He could feel it. And the weather was making his thoughts more and more intense by the second.

Oswald's attentions were raised by a loud brutal knock at the door. At first he figured it was Sheldrake, Falcone and Eagleton attempting to bash his door down because they had been caught by the police or Batman but for some reason he didn't think it was them. They couldn't break into the hall of records that quickly and make it out again, no he was expecting them back around nine. But who else could it be? He wasn't expecting anyone else. And it couldn't have been Batman and his vigilante friends because he usually liked to make a dramatic appearance through a window. So who was it? He was in for a surprise when he found out who it really was standing behind his door.

"Coming," Oswald called out as he made his way to the door and began to unlock it. He was extremely anxious and cautious as the door slowly creaked open. And when he finally saw the figure emerge from the shadow of the door frame, a gasp of surprise came from a shocked Oswald Cobblepot. A flash of lightning came from outside as the figure spoke with a some what flirtatious yet deadly tone.

"Hello Oswald," the figure spoke with a small smirk attached to her features.

"Abigail," Oswald breathed as the figure now to be revealed as Abigail Nighting of all people was standing outside his doorstep with her newly adjusted Nightingale outfit on and an entirely different new personality about her. Also her bandage was off and her scars and her blinded eye were fully revealed. Unlike everyone else, Oswald wasn't frightened, just surprised to see her. "You're meant to be in hospital."

"Oh I couldn't take anymore of it in there," Abigail said plainly then glancing around "well?"

"Well what?"

"Are you going to let me in?"

"Oh right," Oswald moved signalling Abigail to come inside. Claw, now aware of the visitor's presence, knew it was Abigail and instantly flew to her. Abigail allowed her bird of prey to rest comfortably on her shoulder and as she turned around in full view of Oswald his eyes couldn't help but widen as he cautiously approached her.

"Abigail, what on earth have you done to yourself?"

"Like it?" Abigail smiled as she twirled around gracefully "it's my new look."

"Abigail," Oswald breathed sincerely "you really should be in hospital. You are still unwell and you shouldn't be here. Let me drive you back there right now."

"No!" Abigail protested backing away from Oswald as he began to approach her. She was like a scared cat running away from a bath tub as she backed up against the window of Oswald's apartment; Claw soon flew off her shoulder and perched himself on the table giving his mother bird confused glances as he twisted his head from side to side. Oswald on the other hand was confused yet extremely concerned at her erratic behaviour. He knew she wasn't well and that could've caused her to be on edge. But he still had no idea about what had happened at the hospital. "I'm not going back there! You cannot make me!"

"Abigail what's wrong?" Oswald asked noticing Abigail was on the verge of breaking down in tears. He managed to place his soft gentle hands on her waist and guided her to the sofa, after sitting her down and sat beside her he placed a gentle arm around her shoulder and held her close as she began to explain the situation that had caused her to be like this.

"Mr Hail came round to visit me today," Abigail began feeling tears come up in her eyes. They were a mixture of sadness and rage, even at the mere mention of his name Abigail couldn't help but feel anger boil inside her.

"Your boss?"

"That's right, my self righteous, arrogant, pig headed cowardly boss!" Abigail fumed feeling like she could stand up and smash a door down with her bare hands, and that alone proved was how angry she was.

"What happened my love?" Oswald placed his hand on hers which seemed to calm her down again.

"He fired me, that's what happened!" Abigail replied "and I guess I just lost it entirely."

"I see…"

"What do you mean _'I see'_?" Abigail exclaimed sitting upright and releasing Oswald's grip on her shoulder "for once in my life I just flipped out. I couldn't help it, and to be fair it wasn't even my fault! Everything I didn't wish to come true has in fact happened over this last week and I couldn't do anything about it. I've almost been killed twice, lost my sight, my job and gained this bloody scar tissue around my already burnt to a crisp eye! And also the unexpected has happened to me also in the past week and it is all because of you Oswald Chesterfield Cobblepot!" Oswald then braced himself for impact as Abigail continued to rant furiously, but surprisingly and rather unexpectedly she just grabbed him and squeezed him tightly as she whispered the final line in his ear rather gently. "I fell in love…"

"Oh Abigail," Oswald cooed as he too fell into her embrace. "I don't blame you for being like this my love. No one can go what you went through and not have mental and physical scars, but I still don't see why you left the hospital to come here."

Abigail was so emotionally overwhelmed at this point that she began to cry, she imbedded her head in Oswald's stomach and then looked up at him mournfully as she replied "the reason why I left was because I thought I was going mad. I have seen what things like scars do to people. They have affected people so much that they loose everything. Just look what it did to Harvey Dent and Jack Napier! Now they run around known as Two-face and Joker and they kill innocent people and are stark raving mad. I knew that if I would've stayed at that hospital any longer I would have turned out just like them. Insane!"

"No," Oswald breathed in disbelief cradling her head as a few whimpers and sniffles came from within his jacket.

"I came here," Abigail sniffled "because you are the only person who is keeping me sane in this god forsaken world. You're the only one who truly cares for me and doesn't give a damn about my appearance. I lost everything else, and I don't want to loose you."

"You'll never loose me," Oswald said determinedly "I would rather die than to see you in pain. No woman has ever treated me like you have and I wouldn't squander that for anything."

"I'm glad to hear you say that," Abigail's head arose with a small smile revealed through the tears "at least someone cares."

"I will be honest," Oswald smiled "they day I first came out of prison I wasn't expecting to meet you. I was just expecting to get home and attempt to slowly get into the high society of Gotham again, but I know everyone hates me for being the Penguin so I knew that it would be difficult. It was extremely yet pleasantly unexpected when I saved you and you actually spoke to me. No woman ever took to me that quickly in my life and took me seriously, accept you. Looking back on it now, I would have squandered any chance of getting back into high society to be with you my dear. You have changed me, and for that I love you with all my heart. What happened to you does not change how I feel, and you do not have to change for me."

"I am just so confused," Abigail explained placing a hand on her head "when Mr Hail insulted me I felt like I could have killed him just like that. When I rushed out of the hospital I could have sworn I had seen those thugs pointing their guns, sneering at me, just like they did that night they attacked me, but really I think I was just hallucinating at the time. Also when I got home I flipped out and trashed my apartment and my outfit because of some voice message left to me by my retched boss made my body go into a fit of anguish and rage. I just feel like the world is tormenting me. Is that weird?"

"Not at all. You're tired, confused and drained after all of this. Perhaps it would be wise that you turned in for the night and thought things over," Oswald suggested receiving a small nod from Abigail.

"Oswald," Abigail began as Oswald stood up taking her hand to guide her to his bedroom "I ran an awful long way to get to my apartment from the hospital and I can barely stand as it is."

"Well then," Oswald muttered then unexpectedly picking Abigail up bridal style and carried her to his bed. She didn't protest, she was too exhausted to. After he gently placed her down he slipped her glossy black shoes off and placed a light white sheet over the top of her body. As he was about to leave and let her rest she grabbed his flipper like hand and got his attention.

"Thank you for being so kind Oswald. You truly are a gentleman," Abigail muttered drowsily as her eyes slowly began to close.

"Sleep my dove, sleep and let those ghastly thoughts escape your memory while you drift into a deep slumber. And do not fret; I will always be in the next room if you need me." And with that Oswald placed a light soft kiss on her pale cheek and left the room trying not to disturb her.

…

Around three hours later, Abigail was awoken by the sound of a deafening knock at the door of Oswald's apartment. Of course curiosity and a slight worry had got the better of her and she wondered who it could be. Perhaps it was the hospital staff coming to take her back? Wait, no they wouldn't be smart enough to trace her back to Oswald, would they? Also she couldn't ignore the possibility it could be Batman, everyone knew he still had it in for Oswald even though he wasn't committing crimes anymore. But instead just assuming he was expecting someone Abigail ran all of these ridiculous notions through her head as she opened the bedroom door slightly and listened very closely as Oswald went to open his door.

"Hey Boss we're back!" Abigail was indeed surprised to see three distinguished and well dressed up gentlemen (if you could call them that) enter Oswald's apartment. Oswald didn't look too impressed; actually come to think of it he looked extremely sincere and serious unlike his so called guests. Abigail's suspicions were raised as soon as the three men entered the room. She could've sworn she had seen those guys before. Were they associates of Oswald or even Penguin for that matter?

"Have you got what I asked for?" Oswald asked getting straight to the point. His associates suddenly went tense, this didn't look too good.

"Yeah about that Boss," Sheldrake rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Eagleton held onto a few paper documents and handed them to Oswald who instantly snatched them off of him and began flicking through them rather quickly yet thoroughly.

"There is only one file," Oswald pointed out shooting his head back up to his henchmen giving them a deathly scowl "I seem to be missing the file on Mathew Wright."

"Yeah about that," Falcone edged forward while his associates backed away at the obviously aggravated Oswald.

"Where is it?" Oswald grumbled.

"We couldn't find any recorded file on Mathew Wright at all Boss. We searched through them all and it was hard enough finding the one on that Jack Coles you wanted us to get."

"I told you all to get both files! How am I supposed to track these two down with only one blasted file?"

"Geez Boss calm down," Sheldrake said coolly, a little too coolly for Oswald's liking.

"Don't you dare tell me to calm down Sheldrake! Abigail Nighting has suffered enough of what these two cads have done and they must pay for their dastardly deeds!"

"Don't ya think you're going a bit over the top about this Boss? I mean she's just a woman, what could be so special about her?" Falcone asked instantly regretting saying that after Oswald dramatically turned his head and gave him a cold glare.

"Listen you cretin," Oswald snapped loosing both his temper and patience with them "Abigail Nighting is the only woman I have ever cared about, she has been ruined by these mindless thugs. She lost her career, her sight and her sanity. She is currently in the other room resting after running out of the hospital in a mad panic. And you ask me what is so special about her? She is the kindest woman on this planet, her compassion and understanding helped even a Rogue like me become a proper man again. If you three ask anymore absurd questions like that again you can say goodbye to being my henchmen, got it?"

"Yes Penguin sir," all three of the men said in unison. They glanced down at the floor as if they were naughty children being told off by their parents. Oswald picked up the file and scanned through it again, he did this for around a minute while his henchmen stood in silence, and soon enough after careful reading, a small smile picked up on his features as he adjusted his monocle.

"You boys might be in for some luck after all. It says here that Jack Coles has a large criminal history and is the long partner in crime with our Mr Mathew Wright. Wanted for several robberies, one arson and two attempted murders, and I cannot believe they were held in the same unit as me in Stonegate Penitentiary. Well I don't think we'll be needing that file after all. All of the information we need is right here!"

"What information would that be Boss?" Sheldrake queried.

"Addresses and associates my dear fellow," Oswald explained patting the file on Sheldrake's shoulder teasingly "tell me, do you three still have those connections in the criminal circle?"

"Uh, I think so. We haven't gotten in touch with them for a while though," Eagleton replied scratching his head slightly.

"Excellent!" Oswald clasped his hands together triumphantly "go visit your fellow criminal chums and give me the news when you get something useful. Tell them the Penguin will require information on these two and I am willing to pay handsomely for any sort of information they can give me, in the strictest confidentiality of course."

"Tell me Boss," Falcone began "now you're back in action as the Penguin and all that, are we going to have our own hideout?"

"Yes, I cannot afford to be seen with you three here frequently, and I have just managed to get Batman off of my beak as it is. Also I wouldn't say I am becoming the Penguin entirely my dear fellow, I am only doing this for Abigail."

"Great, well we'll set up our hideout in the old abandoned car factory in the east part of Gotham." Eagleton said confidently acting as if he were in charge which caused Sheldrake and Falcone to sneer slightly at their partner.

"Perfect, now go and find me some information on the whereabouts of these two miscreants, and when you do find them ring me immediately so I can personally dispose of them myself."

"We're on it Boss," the three then headed out of the door "we'll meet you at the hideout tomorrow evening?"

"Yes, yes," Oswald pushed them out and slowly began to shut the door "goodbye."

Abigail couldn't believe what she had just heard. Now she recognised those men. They were the Penguin's previous henchmen! Falcone, Sheldrake and Eagleton, the same men who had assisted Penguin rob that Wayne tech helicopter and also sabotage Batman's batmobile. She had seen them enough times on the news and in the papers to recognise them, and now she knew. Was Oswald really going back to crime? He had already told Abigail he wasn't, but was he really lying all of that time? Wait, he only said he was committing this crime for her as some sort of revenge. He wanted to avenge her after what those men had done to her. But why was he prepared to risk going to jail for her? Was it truly an act of love?

Abigail knew deep down Oswald was doing the right thing for her, she was so consumed with a lust for revenge right now that she would be glad for any misery to happen to the people who had destroyed her life. But somehow it didn't feel right. A question bothered Abigail, why wasn't he including her in this? She had the right to be involved, the whole act for revenge revolved around her for pities sake! He could at least have told her he was going back to being a criminal again. But at the same time she knew that she would've probably not taken the news well. Also if she was offered the chance to be involved she would have probably lost it and took it a little too personally and humiliated the thugs on national television before disposing of them in some way, shape or form. But Oswald was still planning on killing them, so why didn't he tell her? She had to know.

After shutting the door of his apartment Oswald slowly turned and went to sit back down and continue to read his book, but as he moved away from the door a sudden voice broke the silence and startled him slightly.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh Abigail," Oswald began as he clutched his chest getting over the shock of seeing Abigail swiftly enter the room without a sound. "You shouldn't be up yet."

"I repeat," Abigail said sternly "why didn't you tell me that you are going back to being the Penguin?"

"I didn't want to involve you," Oswald replied calmly "I take it you were listening to my previous conversation?"

"Yes, and whether you like it or not Oswald Cobblepot, I am involved. That incident happened to me, not you. I just wish you would've told me instead of me finding it out this way. You do not have to go back to crime for me you know."

"Whatever choices I make in life Abigail, I do them with reason," Oswald explained walking over to the window as he watched as the rain began to settle as the storm passed. "I am only being the Penguin again for you my love. I saw how you were in that hospital bed. Alone, frightened, confused, an emotion filled being with no hope and nothing to live for. This made me angry. I wanted revenge for what they did to you. But I didn't think you'd understand. No one truly understood what drove me to crime in the first place."

"I would've understood Oswald," Abigail said as she stood beside him gazing into his eyes "but I wish you would just tell me instead of assuming I wouldn't take it well. Also there is something I have been considering over these past few days, something that could become of me if you go back to being the Penguin."

Oswald's eyes arched. He had the arousing suspicion of what she was going to say. And if it were that, he wouldn't be too eager to accept it. "And what would that be Abigail?"

"Let me be your partner in crime."

"No!"

"But-"

"I do not want that life for you, being a criminal is tough. You run from the law all of your sorry life and once it catches up to you, you end up rotting in a cold, dark and empty cell which seems like a cage. I do not wish to see you become like me Abigail." Oswald said with a hint of sorrow in his tone.

"Oswald, I have no life now. I've lost everything and gained very little. What seemed a nice life for Abigail Nighting is now gone. All that remains of her is the Nightingale, and she wants to help avenge that life that was taken away from her former self. I don't expect you to understand, the only thing worth holding onto in life now is you. But if you become the Penguin again, that will be no good to just Abigail Nighting. I have the right to take these brutes on myself as I am the victim of what happened. I know you are only trying to help me but if you will not let me join you I will go at it alone. The Nightingale is all that remains of Abigail Nighting now, and it shall be that way until they pay!"

"Abigail," Oswald began with a hint of defeat evident in his voice he sighed and turned his gaze swiftly away from her and fixed his gaze on the city. He placed his arms behind his back professionally and it took him a few seconds to complete his sentence, when he finally spoke his tone was low and quite sincere "I never wanted it to come to this, but I guess now I have no choice in the matter. As you know I have re-hired my old henchmen from previous escapades of mine as the Penguin. Now I am not asking you to aid me, but considering this attack was on you I cannot turn your offer down. Just take in the precautions and-"

"Yes I know of the risks Oswald," Abigail interrupted rudely but immediately regretted it when Oswald shot a glare in her direction.

"Let me finish Abigail," Oswald snapped turning his head away again "now if you so desire to be my partner in crime you must be aware that you may be a wanted criminal for the rest of your life, that is providing we get caught of course. Even though this is a personal vendetta that should not attract attention, we still cannot ignore the possibility the world's greatest detective will figure it out. And if Batman does get on our tail we have to take drastic measures to be rid of him if we wish to obtain our goal. If you wish to help me in this I would suggest accompanying me to the hideout tomorrow evening to discuss our plans. But this will be a private event and only you, me, Sheldrake, Falcone and Eagleton will know of this scheme. Also I don't wish this to get too out of hand, by this I mean if you take this too far I will be forced to leave you out of the gang and you will have to let me take care of them. Am I understood here Abigail?"

"Yes Oswald."

"I didn't want it to come to this," Oswald shook his head and glanced at the floor mournfully. Abigail walked in front of him and placed her hand on his chin and brought it up to meet with her eyes, both her good eye and her bad eye. She gazed deep into his eyes and placed a hand on his cheek and rubbed it tenderly. His eyes half shut by the touch of her skin at this but remained open as she spoke again.

"I know," Abigail replied plainly "but this is my choice. All of my life I have let people walk all over me. My father, my boss, those thugs and nearly everyone else who took me for granted. Now it is my chance to change that, and if I cannot do that as Abigail Nighting. I'll do it as the Nightingale."

"Alright," Oswald gave in as he placed his arms around Abigail comfortably "but will you promise me one last thing?"

"Anything for you my love."

"Promise me we can give up crime after this and continue our relationship as just Oswald and Abigail?"

"I'd like that more than anything," Abigail smiled then turning her attentions onto Gotham city. Her face fell slightly and Oswald noticed this "then there will be no more violence, death and destruction and most of all… no more pain."

"And with that day," Oswald began turning Abigail's head back to him as he edged closer to her "we'll seal it with a kiss."

"You don't know how much I long for that day," Abigail finished as she placed her lips on his. The storm was practically over with now and the sky was slowly clearing away with the black clouds and a few patches of the dark night sky were visible in the distance. It was almost 10 o'clock at night and all of the lights shone brightly as the night life was kicking into action. But it wasn't for Oswald and Abigail. After their discussions concerning crime and revenge the two decided to sit down and talk about their pasts. Oswald was the first to reveal his childhood. He knew he could finally trust her with this and he told her everything. This included the torment, the misery, the pain of being the only child of the Cobblepot's and not being accepted into high society because of his appearance. She listened closely until it was her turn to speak. She too told him of her past and how she came to respect him even before they had met.

And it all started with the main thing they had in common. Birds…

Authors note: For the next chapter I have decided to finally elaborate a bit more on Abigail's past. Oswald (or should I say Penguin) will be in it, but he will not interact with her. You'll finally know how she was raised and how she became a bird trainer. Also Oswald will be stirring some trouble for her to handle when he breaks into Gotham zoo and fights Batman. Please tell me what you think of this chapter in the reviews! Thank you!


	13. Chapter 13: Past thoughts

Chapter 13: Past thoughts

Authors note: Wow I have had tons of reviews and favourites and watches over the past week it is shocking! Thank you all so much! I am glad Penguin finally gets some support on Fanfiction. Anyway here is chapter 13, set in the past and not the present. This chapter basically elaborates on Abigail's past, kinda like what I did with Oswald. Oswald is in the chapter towards the end and is mentioned often. Enjoy!

So… how did it begin? It began with a bird, a rather small bird in fact. But like they say, "even the smallest things can make the biggest changes." Now that was a great omen to live by, especially for a girl like Abigail Nighting. Growing up was hard for Abigail, her mother was a doctor and was often away from the house unable to raise her daughter and her father was an electrician who often had to spend time out of work to look after her. Her family weren't rich; they were just average working class citizens trying to make a difference in the perishing Gotham city.

Fitting in at school wasn't easy for Abigail. She was different from all of the other boys and girls. While the other girls sat around and gossiped all of the time about the boys, Abigail would just sit by herself admiring the nature (or what was left of it) around her. That was how she came to be fascinated with birds. Her first trip out to Gotham zoo with the school was when her fascination really did take effect. She watched as all sorts of birds like birds of prey, wading birds, garden birds, and even the arctic birds like penguins and puffins from behind a sheet of glass and always wondered what it would be like to handle or touch them and gain their trust. In some ways she wished she was a bird. And on the occasion when no one was around, she would spread her arms out and pretend she was a bird. But unfortunately for her, there would always be someone to drag her down back into the cruel realms of reality.

In her later years Abigail didn't grow much, while everyone else towered over her during their puberty, she only grew a few inches. Abigail survived high school by just keeping to herself. At lunchtimes you would often find her either in the library or outside on the grass, and even then she did then same thing. She read her bird books. Also unlike the other teenagers she often brought a pair of binoculars to school so she could study what few birds were around in Gotham city. Everyone laughed at her for this and this was what gave her, her nickname. The Nightingale.

"Hey Nightingale, why don't ya stop lookin' at them dumb birds and pay some attention to me?" One of the popular boys joked obviously trying to make fun of her to make himself look big in front of his friends. Abigail just ignored comments like these made by everyone as she knew people were trying to get to her feelings. This is probably why she never had a boyfriend throughout high school.

During these years was when Abigail went through some radical and miraculous changes which would affect her future entirely. She had become stronger, not physically but mentally. She had a strong will power and great ambitions for her future, and this concerned her parents as they already had plans for her. Abigail's mother Julie Nighting and her father David Nighting wanted her to become a lawyer or even a doctor, just like her mother, but unfortunately she decided to take a different path. Since she was seven years old she was enrolled into a bird club, nothing much but they learned to fly birds of prey and go bird watching every now and then. And seven years on, at the bold age of fourteen she was the best bird tamer in the group, she had been given several awards and she was told she truly had a unique gift. This inspired her to pursue a career in falconry or even being a bird tamer for a zoo. This was much to her parent's displeasure. They only wanted her to pursue birds as a hobby, not a career. But her mother took it more lightly than her father ever did.

David Nighting was a stubborn man who usually got what he wanted when he wanted it. He was always trusted to take care of Abigail while Julie was busy working late at the hospital each day of the week and he didn't particularly like taking care of a moody teenager. Some nights he sat Abigail down for a little chat and told her how much it would mean to him if she pursued a _'decent'_ career instead of chasing after birds all of her life. Over time Abigail grew sick of this and like any normal teenager she answered back. This was when the abuse began. She had spoken her mind too much and her father couldn't stand being proven wrong, so he hit her. He hit her to make himself feel good, to show her that he was in charge and that she was nothing more than a defenceless dummy. But he was wrong, he was always wrong. Of course Julie had no idea about what was going on while she was out. And when she returned David would make sure that Abigail wouldn't say a word. This continued for over a year. Until one night in particular, just a few weeks after Abigail's fifteenth birthday…

…

Abigail sat in her room, her various pictures of a variety of species of birds scattered all about the place on the creamy coloured wall paper. Normal girls would have pictures of boy bands or movie stars on their walls, but Abigail wasn't a girl you would call _normal_. She would often sit in her room reading, writing or bird watching. She had a marvellous view of Gotham city from her bedroom window and often birds would come and rest on the rooftops or the telegraph poles just outside her window. Being in her room was a time for solitude, a chance to be alone, like always. But she didn't mind solitude, actually she quite enjoyed it. She didn't need friends to fit in; she just wanted to be herself. But for some people it was hard for them to accept she wasn't just your average teenager.

Abigail cuddled her penguin plush toy closely as she flipped the next chapter in her book, a small pleasant smile appeared on her small features and she flipped her long straight light brown hair back as she adjusted herself in a more comfortable position on her bed. She had now reached the best part in her book, the birds of prey. Of course she loved all birds but somehow birds of prey intrigued her the most. And even though her favourite bird wasn't a bird of prey, she still enjoyed reading about them. In fact her favourite bird had actually come to being a nightingale. Not because it was her nickname at school but because when she first heard a nightingales bird song it was like music to her ears and she instantly fell in love with it. A nightingale was by far her favourite bird, and even though she didn't realize it, that same bird would impact her future entirely.

"Abigail!" Someone's voice came from down the hall. Abigail shuddered at the very sound of that voice; she knew who it was and exactly what they wanted with her. It was her father, and surprise, surprise, he did not sound at all pleased.

"What is wrong father?" Abigail called taking her eyes off of her book and glanced towards her door. She didn't realize that he was in fact standing outside her bedroom door as she answered him and just as he replied he stormed into her room and gave her the fright of her life.

"'_What is wrong' _you say?" He exclaimed dramatically as he paced up and down her room he then grabbed her book and threw it on the floor "THIS is what is wrong! Why can't you just listen to me for once in your short miserable life? Birds are not the future for you! Why can't you see that?"

"Father, I have said this a dozen times," Abigail said boldly obviously in the argumentative mood. She was brave, braver than a lot of people to be honest to answer her parent in that way "it is my life, I will do what I want with it. Even if it means wasting it away for my love of birds."

"You stupid ungrateful girl!" David roared causing Abigail to huddle herself in a ball and hold her plush penguin closely "me and your mother want you to succeed in life but no, you want to waste your life like I did chasing after some dream. I have tried to convince you to get out of this ridiculous faze, but you won't comply now will you?"

"Father, I cannot help it if my true hobby is bird watching or even falconry. I enjoy it more than anything in the world and I recall you said to me you could be anything you wanted to be, just as long as you enjoy it." Abigail replied. She was a little scared that her father might hit her like he did all of those other times they argued like this, but she still wouldn't back down. She was a confident headstrong girl who wouldn't let the slightest comment put her down. This made it very difficult for her father to get his harsh words inside her head.

"Yes I did say that, but when will birds ever get you a successful career huh?" David snapped keeping eye contact with his daughter at all times. Abigail simply grumbled and bent down and picked up her book and continued to read it in the hopes of ignoring him.

"Say's the electrician," Abigail muttered restraining a laugh. She knew her father was always the man who continued to press big career options onto her but did he ever realize his own job was a mess. He earned little money from it and it was only a part time thing. So why was he so interested in trying to solve her future career when his own career was falling apart in the present?

"You little rat!" David spat grabbing her book and throwing it at the wall in anger; he then grabbed her wrists and pressed her against the wall as his hand began to constrict her tiny wrists. Abigail squirmed in pain and fear as her father's hands squeezed tighter and tighter by the second.

"Dad—stop, you're hurting me!" Abigail wined as she tried but fail to break free from his grip.

"You ungrateful brat!" David continued as his anger levels reached their maximum levels "I have done nothing but support this family through everything we have faced. But you my dear Abby have decided to show no appreciation of any kind, and what's more. You choose to defy me and your mother in the hopes of chasing some fantasy. Get back into reality you stupid girl!"

"If anyone isn't in reality dad, it's you!" Abigail growled finally deciding to face the pain and stop squirming "why won't you just accept I'm not the daughter you want me to be? Or are you trying to use me to make up for the failures in your own wretched life?"

"WHY YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE-!" David roared raising his hand in the air in an attempt to smack her across her defiant face. But as he was about to do this, an unexpected voice broke in and literally screamed in terror.

"DAVID!"

Abigail flinched as her father was about to slap her, squeezing her eyes shut about to be subdued by pain she prepared herself. But surprisingly a deafening screech came from the doorway. Abigail opened her eyes slowly and it was as if time had stood still. Her father was standing over her with his hand raised ready to strike but something was preventing him from doing that. Abigail's gaze soon fell on the figure standing gobsmacked in the doorway. It was her mother. Julie Nighting stood resting one shaky hand on the door frame while the other rested on her agape mouth. Her eyes were as wide as they could get and her mouth began to shiver violently. David turned away from Abigail and focused his attentions on his wife. He didn't even need to say anything; his wife had heard enough to get what he had become. She too was afraid of him. The scene went completely pressured and while David didn't know what to say or do, Abigail suddenly burst into tears and huddled into a small ball on her bed cuddling her plush penguin closely. It was only a minute later when David finally spoke as he rushed past his completely shaken wife.

"I'm going out!" David rushed past Julie and headed straight out of their apartment door. Julie watched as her husband left and after the front door slammed shut, she then turned her attentions to her sobbing teenage daughter. That was when Abigail decided to finally speak.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Abigail said looking up at her mother with her tearstained hazel eyes. Julie simply walked over to her daughter's bed and sat beside her cuddling her daughter in comfort.

"Don't you apologise Abigail, I had the suspicion your father was up to something." Julie replied placing her arms around her as Abigail sobbed into her white doctor's coat "how long has he been hurting you for?"

"About a year now," Abigail explained "he told me not to tell you because he would make my life a living hell if I did."

"Oh Abby," Julie cooed "you can tell me anything. You're father has some problems and I already told him he needs to seek help, but he refused to. He's getting worse, and I had the suspicion he was taking it out on you. The way he acted around you was one thing, plus the way you avoided him all of the time was pretty obvious too. I should've stopped him."

"I'm sorry mother," Abigail apologised yet again and her mother simply shook her head and continued to allow her daughter to weep.

"No, I am sorry Abigail," Julie began "I will never let that monster ever hurt you again."

That day had changed the Nighting family forever. Within a few months Julie and David finally decided that they couldn't resolve anything between them and filled for a divorce. Abigail was finally happy to be free of her father's attitudes towards her and she wasn't at all bothered about what happened to him after the divorce papers were finalized. Abigail never saw her father again after that. She lived with her mother for a few more years until she decided to move out and start her career as a falconer. That was when she went to college and met her best friend, who actually didn't have an interest in birds, but reptiles. And that was the beginning of something new. Soon she would get the career of her dreams and it was all thanks to one particular person whom she would meet in the future.

…

During her mid twenties Abigail Nighting had done wonders for herself. She had achieved several degrees in falconry and any other bird related qualification you needed to become a bird trainer that was available. The only problem now was, she needed to seek a job. She had managed to get a few part time jobs but nothing she really wanted to focus on as a full time career. She wouldn't really call stacking shelves in a store a suitable career for the rest of her life. No she needed one related to birds, and she needed a job soon before she went into a financial crisis.

"So, still can't find a job eh?" Asked Abigail's now best friend Evie. Evie was Abigail's college friend and was now the head of the reptile department of Gotham zoo. Abigail in some ways envied her friend, she only could dream of working there. If only she could get the job of head of the aviary house, now that would be a job worth keeping.

"Nope," Abigail replied handling a crocodile skull carefully "say where did you want me to put this fellow?"

"Over there in that box," Evie pointed at the other end of the room. Evie had let Abigail come into the zoo today to help clean out her office. She was sorting it out so it was cleaner and not to mention safer for her to work in. Abigail was more than happy to help considering she was currently out of work and had nothing decent to do with her time. She was in some secret way hoping her friend could put a good word in for her in the hopes she could be employed for the bird department at the zoo. But she didn't like to drop hints or use people so she kept it to herself. "And hard luck Abby, I'm sure you'll find a job sooner or later."

"Yes, I guess. But I envy you Evie."

"Why on earth should you envy me?" Evie smirked passing her friend another box to sort out. Evie was a tall woman around the same age as Abigail. She had soft dark brown hair and wore average clothes, a little too average for someone who deals with vicious and venomous reptiles on a daily basis. Evie Davis was always interested in reptiles, Abigail could still recall the fist day they had met and Evie introduced her to her pet boa constrictor. Abigail shuddered to think of what that vicious snake did to its prey.

"Well you get a steady career with the animals you love. I'll tell you something if I ever got this opportunity I would take it without a second's hesitation."

"Knowing you Nightingale, you probably wouldn't."

"Evie, why are you using my college nickname?" Abigail enquired arching an eyebrow amusingly as she continued to place dead reptile skins and skeletons into the boxes carefully. Handling dead animals didn't bother her, in fact it fascinated her.

"I don't know, it just suits you. You could use that if you wanted to start a show," Evie suggested receiving an amused chuckle from her best friend "I can see it now, _'The Nightingale'_ in big flashing neon lights. Who knows, you could become famous with that nickname."

"I am being serious Evie, you're job is definitely a fantastic opportunity."

"If only there were a spot open for the bird department, we could use your skills," Evie explained then shoving yet another box of belongings to the other end of the room.

"Yes," Abigail muttered glumly as a small frown appeared on her red lips. She knew it was only a dream, there were very few jobs available for a bird trainer currently and she knew she would have to work hard to get anywhere with this career choice. Perhaps her father was right. Letting out a defeated sigh Abigail finished her sentence "if only."

When Evie shoved the box across the room she accidentally knocked the small TV that lay on the small unit and it somehow switched itself on. But instead of turning it off, Abigail and Evie watched it curiously as the day's news report came on the screen. The main headline was one of the recent events; by coincidence it was the one thing that would concern Abigail later on. Summer Gleason was the reporter at the scene and she was interviewing a young boy after he had run-ins with Batman and the well known Rouge the Penguin.

"Today I am at the East part of Gotham city where a young boy called Sherman Grant came into an encounter with Batman and the arch criminal known as the Penguin yesterday. After stealing the Fabergé egg from the museum of art last week the Penguin along with his henchmen were laying low from the police at an abandoned warehouse. That was until the Batman got involved and found himself injured by the Rogue. That was when Sherman and few of his young friends saved him from the notorious Penguin who is now in custody for his villainous crimes. Here with me now is Sherman Grant and his friends who saved Batman from the Penguin yesterday afternoon. Tell me Sherman, what was Batman like?"

A young boy with glasses and his friends stood at the camera proudly as they were being interviewed, one of Sherman's friends, a taller older boy with black hair pushed in front of his friend and was the first to speak. "He has an awesome car!"

"Well anyway," Sherman started as he glared at his friend for butting in "Batman was in trouble after being gassed by the Penguin and we helped him escape the Penguin by driving his Batmobile. Then we grouped at my house but unfortunately Penguin's vulture found us and soon the Penguin showed up. He trashed my house but we managed to stall him until Batman woke up and finished him off."

"You drove the Batmobile?" Summer Gleason asked obviously surprised by the child's claim.

"We sure did!" The girl called Roberta grinned.

"Well, there you have it Gotham;" Summer Gleason then turned back towards the camera obviously not believing the last comment by the over exaggerating children "Batman yet again took down the Penguin. Oswald Cobblepot's trial should take place shortly, but of course yesterday's events proved that his crimes aren't as bad as Two-face's escapade a month ago. Although the Penguin did have this to say as he was being arrested yesterday by police."

The scene suddenly changed as the news was replaying a video on the screen. Oswald Cobblepot, as known as the Penguin was shown with his henchmen being escorted from Sherman Grant's house by the police. The scene wasn't that clear but of course Penguin didn't leave quietly. Instead as the officer tried to read him his rights, he just ranted about Batman and the police force which many found quite amusing.

"Yes confound it already, I know about my rights you stupid woman!" The Penguin protested as a female police officer dragged him away attempting to read him his rights whilst handcuffing him, but obviously she was failing to keep the criminal quiet "If it wasn't for Batman and those blasted children I would be as rich as my family once were. But no. A clearly disturbed masked vigilante decided to put a bat in my belfry. Well this is the last time you here me Batman? This is the last time you mess with the Penguin and win!"

Suddenly the screen went dead and Abigail immediately turned to Evie who had grabbed the remote and switched the TV off. She then threw the remote down and gave a somewhat frustrated sigh. Abigail's attentions were now fixed on her friend as she spoke.

"Gosh that Penguin is such a pompous aristocratic ass," Evie blurted much to Abigail's surprise "thank the world Batman finally collard him, he deserves it."

"Evie Davis I am shocked at you," Abigail replied obviously stunned at her friend's sudden unnecessary outburst "I never realized you had such horrible views on the Penguin."

"I think everyone does Abigail. I mean he's a freak! Plus he humiliates the zoo every time he decides to gatecrash the security systems at night and steal some birds. He deserves everything he gets coming to him."

"I don't feel that way," Abigail said looking down and continuing to pack one of the few boxes left. Evie's eyes widened as she gazed at her friend with a shocked expression.

"You what?"

"I meant, I don't feel that he deserves to be humiliated like that. I feel that no one takes him seriously and truly understands him."

"Are you out of your mind Abigail?" Evie exclaimed "it's like saying I had respect for the Joker when he decided to hold me and the other people in Gotham bank hostage that time while his psychotic girlfriend robbed us. You saying you have respect for him too?"

"No," Abigail defended "He is clinically insane and has no real motivation for his actions other than to find humour in other people's pain. But the Penguin is different."

"I cannot believe you're defending him like this," Evie breathed as she stood up and stopped packing focussing her full attention on her _'out of mind'_ friend "how is he any different from the rest of the criminals?"

"He's not insane, that is a start." Abigail began smirking slightly before her expression went rather blank as she glanced at the wall with some sort of distant gaze which caused her friend to assume some pretty weird thoughts "I guess I just pity him because he is so consumed with his past and people disrespect him because of his appearance. I feel that inside that criminal is a true, caring person who just won't show his true colours because he has in the past and has ended up getting hurt. I just feel Oswald Cobblepot should be pitied more than blamed for his actions."

"Alright then," Evie finally replied glancing down at her watch dully "I am needed in the aviary; they have just brought a rare south American vulture in that has suddenly turned rogue on them. No surprise considering it is your boyfriend's bird."

"Excuse me?" Abigail choked receiving a sly wink from Evie.

"Nothing," Evie winked again "come along now they need all of the help they can get."

After a short walk to the aviary Evie dialled in a code of numbers into the security pad and she and Abigail entered the aviary quickly. Several people were crowded around a particular cage as the sound of a struggle could be heard from within the crowd. A bird's squawks and shrieks could also be heard throughout the bird house and this made Abigail feel upset. She hated hearing or seeing birds in distress. After pushing to the front of the crowd Evie stormed up to the boss who stood by and watched as several of his employees attempted to tranquilize the obviously agitated vulture.

"Mr Hail why the heck did you call me out to see this?" Evie demanded "since when does my job detail include birds? I was under the impression I dealt with your precious African crocs."

"Ah Miss Davis, I am glad you came," Mr Hail the head of the zoo board of directors said plainly obviously not caring for his employee's opinions "and as for your question, I am afraid the aviary staff have their hands full trying to gain control over this monstrous bird, I am afraid we need all of the help we can get."

"Well I am of no use to you if you wish me to tame that thing," Evie pointed in the direction of the vulture. "But I have a friend who is here with me and she has a natural ability to handle birds like this."

"Natural abilities are of no use here Miss Davis." Mr Hail said stubbornly not even passing a glance to the now approaching Abigail "and I would like you to tell your friend to get out of here. The zoo is not open to the general public you know."

Evie passed an apologetic glance to Abigail who instantly got the message "Abigail, would you please go back to my office and continue tidying up there while I clear this mess up here?"

"Sure," Abigail said dully as she turned around and headed back out of the aviary. She was disappointed she wasn't allowed to assist them, she could've helped! But of course like other employers had done, they never gave her a chance to show her full potential.

Around half an hour later Evie returned to her office. As she entered she instantly looked around for Abigail and it didn't take her five seconds to find her. There was Abigail sitting on the floor watching the television screen as the news reports switched. Evie smirked as a picture of the Penguin came on the screen again, and after Abigail expressed such a high opinion of the man earlier, she would find it hard to resist an odd tease.

"Oh look it's your boyfriend," Evie grinned as Abigail jumped at the sound of her voice. She turned around and passed a glare in her friend's direction.

"He is not my boyfriend," Abigail began "I just said I felt sorry for him as all."

"Sure ya did," Evie winked sending a smug smile Abigail's way. Abigail swiftly stood up and made her way towards Evie.

"If you think this is funny Evie I would quit while you are ahead."

"Of come on Abby, I was only teasing you."

"It isn't a thing you should tease me about," Abigail then glanced down at the floor "imagine how he felt every time he was teased, and now look how he turned out."

"You really do have feelings for him don't you?" Evie's eyes widened in surprise obviously taken aback by her friend's actions.

"Of course not!" Abigail snapped taken aback by the very comment "why would I? I don't even know the guy."

"I bet if you got to know him you would," Evie began then deciding to change the subject before things got messy between them "anyway I am afraid we were not able to tame the vulture but they did manage to put him in a larger cage."

"What are they going to do with him?" Abigail enquired hoping for the world's sake that they wouldn't put the bird down.

"If he were any ordinary vulture, he wouldn't be with us right now. They would've put him down like a dog gone loopy on-"

"Yes, yes I get the message," Abigail cut her off attempting to get her to go straight to the point instead of trailing off like usual.

"They are going to transfer him; none of the aviary staff can control him and he will not be tamed by anyone but his master. The Penguin trained him well. Too well if you ask me."

Abigail crossed her arms slyly and a small glint of determination appeared in her eyes, she decided to break it to her friend slowly in the hopes that she would eventually comply. But Evie Davis was always a stubborn one; she played by the rules no matter what. She would be a tough one to crack.

"You know Evie," Abigail began pursing her lips as she decided to break a big question she had wanted to ask since the beginning "you could always get me to go in there and try and tame him."

"No," Evie said swiftly much to Abigail's disappointment.

"Come on Evie, you have seen what I can do. I have trained any kind of bird in the past and you had no problem with that back then. Who was the one who house trained your dad's parrot?" Abigail tried everything to persuade her friend otherwise, she had even brought up a situation from years ago when Evie's dad had a pet parrot with a bad attitude, but of course Abigail had managed to tame him and prevent him from eating the furniture and stick to his natural diet of fruit.

"We aren't talking about an ordinary bird here Abigail," Evie explained seriously as she walked over to the other end of the room and picked up the daily news paper with the headline **'Gotham acquires new vulture'** on the front cover. She glanced down at the picture of the vulture that was indeed the Penguin's bird before they handed it over to the zoo after his arrest "this is a rare south American vulture with a serious problem for everyone other than his master. This bird apparently took on Batman, what makes you think you could tame it if it took down Gotham's dark knight?"

"You said yourself I had a natural ability to tame nearly every species of bird in existence. I am surprised you show little faith in me Evie, I thought you were my best friend." Abigail looked away sadly obviously taking her friends rejection to heart.

"I would have you tame him if it weren't for him being an endangered bird. Plus the zoo would have my head if they saw me allowing a member of the general public wander into the aviary and get up close and personal with the birds. I am sorry Abigail, I just cannot risk it."

Abigail turned her head into the direction of the TV and watched as the news channel repeated the report on the Penguin yet again. She gazed at the picture of him that was being displayed along with the report. She couldn't help but stare at his picture and wonder what he was doing at that point in time. Was he out plotting for some sort of revenge on Batman? Or was he just gazing up at the ceiling in his cell at Stonegate wondering how he became who he was? Abigail was telling the truth when she said she pitied him, she never lied about that sort of thing. But how could someone train a bird to be as rogue as himself? Something from within her called out to her telling her to go to the bird the Penguin called Scrap and tame him. But she didn't want to endanger her friend's career just to try and prove to the world and herself that she could do this. But if she didn't at least try, she would never see this bird again. Determination had gotten the better of her and she only wanted to do what she had judged to be right, even if that meant bending the rules in her favour.

After finally giving up the fight Abigail just changed the subject to another thing and continued to assist Evie until she was no longer needed. After departing out of Evie's office she headed outside toward the main gate. Abigail couldn't help but turn her head every now and then in the direction of the aviary. It was as if it were calling her there, and it was hard to resist it for someone like Abigail. She took a deep breath of air and swiftly turned her full body around and began to walk over to the aviary. She had no concerns regarding the security cameras right now because apparently they were offline being updated by the security crew. Abigail slipped inside the aviary after punching in a few numbers she had memorized thanks to Evie and then made her way over to the cage where they were keeping Scrap.

The south American vulture was obviously agitated and threatened by Abigail's approach and began to squawk and try to break free from the cage by flapping his wings about furiously, but it didn't work. Abigail kept eye contact with the bird of prey at all times and then reached out to the bird with her right hand as she was now beside the vulture's cage. Abigail smiled adoringly at the bird as she began to speak gently to the bird.

"It is alright," Abigail cooed attempting to stroke the rogue vulture but was force to pull away when he almost got it with his large sharp beak "I will not hurt you."

Suddenly the vulture no longer saw her as a threat and allowed her hand to slip inside the cage without even trying to ward her off. Abigail was slow and gentle as she ran her dainty hand up and down the birds head and a broad content smile appeared on her face. She had managed to gain his trust. To hell with it if she got caught, nothing could ruin this moment for her. Not one thing.

Back in the security room the security guards had finally managed to put the security software's back online. All of the cameras in all the parts of the zoo were now fully functioning and of course now they could see Abigail in the aviary. Of course they had contacted Mr Hail and as soon as he got the call he was on his way. Abigail didn't realize it at the time, but she could be in serious trouble once he had arrived. Or would she? Hadn't she just accomplished what everyone else hadn't? She had tamed Scrap after all.

Abigail continued to pet Scrap from within the cage as the once rogue bird had now settled down as was behaving like an obedient dog. She continued to speak to him quietly acting as if he were an actual person, the bird was completely sound now, well until a sudden disturbance made him slightly defensive that is.

"Miss Nighting," a voice from within the aviary called out. Abigail jumped at the sudden deep voice and turned in the direction from where it had come from, the voice belonged to Mr Hail. And didn't Abigail almost die from shock right there and then. "What are you doing in here?"

"I—um, I can explain!" Abigail blurted obviously loosing it as the bald man began to approach her and Scrap. He focussed his attentions on Scrap and after several moments turned his gaze to Abigail, it was very direct and this somehow made Abigail quiver.

"This is the calmest I have seen this creature ever since his arrival here," Mr Hail noted "I assume you are the bird tamer Miss Davis has told me about?"

"Yes," Abigail replied "Abigail Nighting."

"Yes, I can clearly see why she calls you the Nightingale," Mr Hail smiled as he circled her making observations in the process Abigail watched as his expressions changed rapidly and she felt quite tense around him. "Yes you have a great skill for calming the birds down around here. Tell me Miss Nighting, how do you do it?"

"I don't know," Abigail explained "I guess it comes naturally to me. Ever since I was little birds interested me and I have managed to obtain every qualification I can get to pursue a career in bird training or falconry. But unfortunately I haven't had my fair share of luck recently. I cannot get a job to do with birds anywhere in Gotham, not even as a pooper scooper."

"I see," Mr Hail began rubbing his chin in interest "if you could show me some more of your talents I could consider getting you a job here in the aviary department at Gotham zoo."

"You're serious?" Abigail's eyes widened in amazement as Mr Hail simply nodded. She wasn't expecting him to be saying this. In fact she was expecting him to flip out at her for being in the aviary after closing time, but surprisingly he was taking this very well.

"None of the aviary staff have managed to calm this vulture down after his departure from his owner the Penguin. We do not wish to give him away to another zoo but we would be forced to do that if we cannot control him. You have managed to do what my other associates could not in a matter of minutes. Even though I should really throw you out of the zoo for entering without permission I see no point in causing a fuss. Not when we could put you excellent skills to good use that is. So what do you say Miss Nighting, want to have a job involving birds?"

"Of course I'll accept!" Abigail exclaimed practically jumping for joy. It was as if she were dreaming, she had gotten the career of her dreams after unexpectedly taming a rogue bird just like that. People truly underestimated her talents and now they would soon see first hand on how good she was. Just think, if she could tame the Penguin's bird, she could train anything (bird related of course).

Years after this life changing event Abigail Nighting had kept her job at Gotham zoo. But around a year after these events her friend Evie decided to move on from her job at the zoo after she had taken an opportunity to study wild crocodiles in Africa. But Abigail remained. Soon she was considered that good that the board of directors allowed her to have her own bird show. The show was a success but somehow her boss Mr Hail had grown a somewhat jealous attitude towards Abigail's successful career and slowly it turned to a bit of a personal problem. He picked faults with all that she did and tried to criticize her show. But unfortunately for him, the public loved it too much for him to just simply take it away from the zoo. And when Abigail had introduced her new companion Claw, whom she had picked up after rescuing him from poachers in England, her show was a big success. 'Nightingale and Claw' was such a big success that Abigail was interviewed by Summer Gleason one time for her show. This was when someone finally saw her for the first time. That same person whom she would eventually meet and then change her life forever.

…

Oswald Cobblepot never liked Stonegate Penitentiary. Well since when did any criminals like prison anyway? But Stonegate was a nightmare for the likes of the Penguin. He wasn't called _'the gentleman of crime'_ for nothing. He always expected everything to be 1st class service outside of prison considering his social background, but come in here and he wouldn't rate it 3rd class let alone 1st. The food was appalling, the manners of the inmates not to mention the staff was atrocious, and the cells. Don't get him started on the lack of hygiene in those prison cells. But he was in a prison after all, he couldn't expect anything more or anything less.

Today all of the criminals were allowed an hour outside of their cells in the social room. There were a few tables and chairs and a television with a sofa also. Oswald was one of the first inmates allowed in the room after finishing his tasks so he sat down and simply read a book. That was until two other inmates decided to rudely sit next to him and start arguing over the remote to the TV. Oswald tried to keep his attention on his book but every time a large elbow or hand whacked off of his skin he felt his insides get angrier and angrier. In the end Oswald clenched his teeth and shot a cold glare at the two large men.

"Would you two daft imbeciles mind? I am trying to read my novel here but I am finding that difficult with your brawling about like a bunch of wild gorillas." Oswald then placed his attention back to his book until a large tattooed hand laid itself carelessly on the page.

"Sorry Mr Penguin," one of the two brutes replied "we don't take orders from short fat birds."

"Consider yourself lucky they took away my umbrella weapons in the Gotham police department because otherwise I would be shoving my umbrella gun right into your thick skull and put some bullet holes there." Oswald threatened much to the two brutes' amusement.

"Ooh I am so scared," the brute joked then removing his hand from the book and flicked Oswald's large nose causing him to start getting rather infuriated by the pair.

"I want my mommy," the other one mimicked a child by pretending to suck his thumb. Oswald inwardly groaned at the pair, they were like the other imbeciles at this wretched place. They were more immature than a class of children.

"Don't you know who you are toying with?" Oswald asked impatiently.

"Yeah, you're Penguin, the one who got owned by a bunch of geeky kids," the two burst out with laughter. Oswald would have hit them right then if it wasn't for one of the prison guards towering over the front of the sofa causing the two criminals to stop laughing.

"Is there a problem here?" The guard asked gruffly crossing his arms in an impatient manner.

"No sir," one of the brutes said in a jolly tone "nothing wrong at all, is there Pengy?"

"No," Oswald said through gritted teeth. "Nothing at all."

After the guard left the two thugs decided to leave Oswald alone and watch some television. After flicking through several channels they stopped on the news and sat there quietly while the reporters gave the story about the Scarecrow's latest fear related escapade. Oswald continued to read his book not even paying any attention to the television; he was contented to be left alone. That was until one of the brutes tapped his shoulder.

"What?" Oswald snapped causing the pair to move away slightly.

"Jeez Ozzy take it easy," the one said casually pointing at the television screen "we were just wondering if you know that girl on TV."

"What girl?" Oswald turned his head as the next report began. There stood the smug Summer Gleason interviewing a young woman with long brown hair and had a buzzard perched on her shoulder. A big smile was attached to her features as Summer began the interview.

"Today with me is Gotham zoo employee Abigail Nighting and her faithful pet buzzard Claw. Abigail Nighting, as you may have heard has a show called 'Nightingale and Claw' which has taken the public viewing by storm. She is a very ambitious woman who loves birds and we have decided to interview her on her apparent success."

"She a girlfriend of yours Pengy?" One of the brutes asked teasingly at Oswald as he stared at the screen blankly. Oswald didn't reply and continued to watch as Summer interviewed this Abigail Nighting.

Somehow this woman intrigued him. He had never seen such a woman who had the same views on birds as he did. As the interview continued he learnt more about her and this made him interested in her show. She seemed like a likeable person, she was pretty, ambitious and kind above all. The way she handled her own bird resembled the way he handled his, with love and caring attention. Perhaps the next time he got out of prison, he could go and see her show.

Today was a day when Oswald Cobblepot first laid eyes upon someone who would change his future for certain. And although he didn't realize it at the time, she would know more about him in a month, than his own parents did in a life time. But going back to the present day, things were about to change, and what hopes Oswald and Abigail had in maintaining a quiet operation were about to be lost.

Authors note: Wow! This was a long chapter. Sorry if some of it seemed a bit rushed but it was a lot to write for just one chapter. Anyway the next chapter is going to be set in the present day again and things will be made clear about their plans at their meeting. Just to warn you I am going on holiday for two weeks and I cannot determine whether I'll have an internet connection or not, so I don't know if I'll be able to update soon. Hopefully I should but just in case I thought I'd just give you this warning in case I cannot update. Anyway in the meantime, please review! Thanks!


	14. Chapter 14: A plan in formation

Chapter 14: A plan in formation

Authors note: Well I found after all I can have internet on holiday. You know what that means, updates! I may be a few days off updating considering I am after all on holiday and I will be doing stuff but I will still continue with the story anyways. Thank you all for your support. This goes for everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed this story. Anyway enough of my babbling and onto the chapter. Enjoy!

On the east part of Gotham city were a few house estates, factories and other small businesses attempting to live it through the dark times in the big city. It was a dark clouded night and a slight tension was in the air on this particular night. On an old business complex lay the remains of an old car factory. It was now an abandoned shabby building that didn't particularly stand out compared to the other abandoned buildings. This would make the perfect hideout for a particular villain. Speaking of whom, his henchmen were inside that building at this very moment. Sheldrake Eagleton and Falcone were sitting inside the building awaiting their Boss to show up, and while Eagleton was sitting there smugly. His partners weren't particularly as eager as he was.

"I don't like this Eagleton; I mean what if the bat figures it out?" Sheldrake asked nervously pacing up and down the room while Eagleton sat there casually on the old, shabby, dust ridden sofa that had been left there. Falcone kept his eyes on the clock and occasionally gazed out of the window but like Sheldrake he was slightly concerned too.

"Chill Sheldrake, if the Boss said we meet him here, we meet him here. You really do need to relax and take it easy, you're worse than you were the last time we met up with him in an old abandoned warehouse. That time I remember you almost brought the place down by squealing like a girl at a dead rat in the freezer," Eagleton said amusingly putting his dirty feet up on the stool and placed his large hands behind his back casually.

"But he may be right Eagleton; Batman has come onto us before. They don't call him _'the world's greatest detective'_ for nothing," Falcone mentioned.

"Come on guys, am I the only one who is cool here? Penguin isn't driving attention to himself, for once, and has got Batman off of his case. Now I am sure Batman is too busy chasing after that crazy plant lady and the other nut jobs from Arkham Asylum to even think that we are working for ol' Pengy again."

"Yeah I heard that apparently Joker and Harley escaped again."

"Great, that provides the bait for old Batsy. Next thing you know the Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, Ventriloquist, Killer Croc, Riddler and all the rest will escape and cause a big riot in Gotham. That is something I would pay to see."

"Guy's I think he's here." Falcone noted gazing out of the window directly.

"Who Batman?" Sheldrake jumped obviously startled by Falcone's sudden observation.

"No stupid. The Boss."

…

In the Batcave underneath the Wayne manor Batman, AKA Bruce Wayne was running over a few reports on his computer. Robin and Batgirl were out tracking Poison Ivy for him and despite the fact he knew he should really be with them, he had more important things to attend to. Firstly he had to examine how Harley Quinn had managed to fool the security guards at Arkham and help Joker escape. Also he was still investigating where Two-face was lurking after he got away with their last encounter, plus Poison Ivy was finally making her plant related threats on Mayor Hill. There was no rest for the wicked. But that wasn't what was bothering him. Batman handled this kind of stuff everyday. Over the years the Rogue's of Gotham city had became more like pests than problems. They didn't hold a huge threat over Gotham city when he was there to take them down. But when criminals took advantage of ordinary harmless citizens and manipulated them to become criminals, that was when things became a problem. He knew the Penguin was clean, for now anyways. But he still couldn't shake that feeling that something bad was about to happen. He had no idea what, but he had a guess it included the woman who Oswald Cobblepot was now claiming to love. Of course Batman had heard of that incident at Gotham zoo the other week and he had also saw the video of the Penguin rescuing the woman from the fire. But something inside him knew that, that particular incident would start a chain reaction off that would have severe consequences. He had no idea where the two criminals who did that to her were, but he had no time to track them down when he had nutcases like Joker and Harley, Two-face, Poison Ivy and others to catch.

"Something isn't right here Alfred," Batman noted as he sat on the bat computer watching updates on the news reports "Abigail Nighting was attacked the other week by two muggers and apparently they were the same men who caused that commotion at Gotham zoo last week. Now Abigail Nighting is declared missing from Gotham central hospital since five o'clock yesterday evening after she ran out of the hospital in a fragile state."

"Obviously there is some sort of bizarre connection, but what do those two men have to do with this woman's disappearance?" Alfred asked as he placed down a cup of tea on Bruce's desk.

"I don't think she is herself," Batman replied "since the Penguin saved her and they have gotten close, he has caused her nothing but trouble. I can't help seeing the same in that incident with her than that dreadful day Harvey Dent fled from the hospital after seeing his scars."

"But you knew Harvey Dent and were like a brother to him, this Abigail Nighting wasn't known to you until she got involved with the Penguin of all people." Alfred explained "plus she hasn't got a multiple personality disorder does she?"

"No records show any mental problems, unless she has concealed issues concerning her past."

"What about her past sir?"

"According to her file, when she was a child her father abused her, but her parents divorced and she lived with her mother here in Gotham while he moved to Las Vegas and got into serious debt. But I just cannot shake this feeling I have, I feel that she and the Penguin will do no good and end up hurting people."

"You often think dark thoughts master Bruce," Alfred assured calmly "I am sure it'll pass."

"No, not this time Alfred," Batman said rather determinedly "I have had this feeling ever since I first approached the pair. I do not think her disappearance is any coincidence. I think she ran off to the Penguin and obviously in that mental state she left the hospital in, declared revenge for what happened to her. This is judging by past experience though. And if my hunch is right, she will be the stone that starts an avalanche and bring the Penguin back to his criminal activity."

"I can only hope your hunch is wrong sir."

"Yes, Alfred. So do I."

…

Oswald Cobblepot exited the car and headed to the abandoned warehouse his henchmen had set up for a hideout. He kept his wits about him just in case some particular masked vigilante decided to show up. Of course he had brought along his umbrella, obviously one of his weapons. He always carried something with him when he was a criminal, whether it is: deadly gases, bullets, knives, propellers or anything else he used to defeat Batman in the past. Oswald's attention was brought on a particular window where his three henchmen stood waving like imbeciles with silly grins plastered on their ridiculous faces. Oswald rolled his eyes and decided to enter the premises.

"Heya Boss how's life?" Eagleton asked as Oswald opened the door, once he turned around and faced his tall associate he just grumbled and muttered a few curses before finally deciding to reply.

"What do you think you moron?" Oswald then whacked his umbrella off of Eagleton's head much to Sheldrake and Falcone's amusement and Eagleton's embarrassment.

"Do you like the hideout Boss?" Falcone enquired as Oswald inspected his surroundings.

"Could use a bit of a spring clean, who knows what disgusting creatures lurk in those dreary walls," Oswald admitted then clasping his hands "well gentlemen, shall we get down to business?"

"Sure Boss," the three replied as the four men made their way into the other room which once resembled some sort of kitchen. It had a rectangular table and six chairs around each side. Oswald chose to sit at one end of the table while his henchmen sat nearby. Eagleton got out the file Oswald had given them yesterday and placed it on the table and passed it to Oswald. Oswald took out his cigarette holder and placed it in his mouth as he picked up the file and flicked through it quickly.

"So what did your underground chums say?" Oswald asked then placing the file back on the table and placed both of his hands on the table in a professional like manner "anything fruitful or of interest?"

"Well we did ask them if they knew Mathew Wright and Jack Coles but only one of them actually knew them. It was Sheldrake's pal, me and Eagleton didn't get to speak to him." Falcone explained and suddenly Oswald's full attentions laid on Sheldrake who gazed at him nervously.

"Do tell me what your _'good ol' buddy'_ told you Sheldrake," Oswald eyes then narrowed slightly "unless you have something to hide from me?"

"N-no Boss, not at all." Sheldrake stammered "my friend used to share a cell with the two back at Stonegate. They also met up every now and then as a sort of get together between old pals if you get me."

"And this is meant to help us because?" Oswald demanded his voice layered with impatience and a hint of anger. Sheldrake gulped and continued with what he was saying.

"Anyway the other day my ol' pal actually met up with these two and they had explained what they had done to your girlfr-" Sheldrake then cut himself off when he noticed Oswald's glare, he didn't like the term girlfriend. It made it sound common and Oswald Cobblepot was anything but common, plus Abigail was a respectable woman who deserved more than the tatty term _'girlfriend'_. "Um, I mean your lady friend."

"And what did they tell him?"

"Well they told him about how they attacked her in the alleyway before for her bird to make a profit from selling it or something, and then they went on to tell him that you rescued her and scared them off before they could kill her. Then a few days later they wanted to get some sort of revenge. They wanted to publicly humiliate her and teach her a lesson, but secretly they wanted more."

"What was that?"

"They, well they, wanted to um…"

"WHAT?" Oswald roared hooking the handle of his umbrella round Sheldrake's neck and screaming in his face. Sheldrake looked as if he were about to wet himself, this was the Penguin that hadn't shown his face in a while. It seemed when he wasn't around Abigail he was just like he was in the old times. Impatient, crude, obnoxious and sophisticated. Those four words summand Oswald Cobblepot up quite nicely in the eyes of his henchmen.

"T-they wanted to show y-you that they meant business. They wanted t-to humiliate the Penguin and make him look like a fool in front of everyone, including criminals. T-they told my friend it was concerning that woman, they knew you had some sort of feelings for her and that you were a s-sap when you were around her; a-a-all of your criminal reputation was shattered thanks to that woman."

Oswald released his umbrellas grip on Sheldrake's neck and sat back in his chair silently. Sheldrake was feeling his neck with his trembling hands and panting heavily thanking the gods he was still alive. Eagleton and Falcone just sat there wide eyed and mouths agape at the situation before them. It wasn't everyday you saw the Penguin about to pummel his own henchman for a bunch of useless information.

"D-did they give the current location of these scumbags?" Oswald asked surprisingly calm.

"Yeah Boss," Sheldrake said handing him a piece of scrunched up paper. Oswald adjusted his monocle and read it; he then looked up and patted Sheldrake lightly on his shoulder.

"Thank you Sheldrake you have been a great assistance."

"Boss?" Sheldrake asked quietly. "There was something else they told my friend."

"Yes?"

"They told him that they didn't mean for her to be knocked unconscious and have a…" Sheldrake then waved his hands around his right eye to mimic what had happened to Abigail "burnt out eye. All they wanted to do was scare her."

"Well they have accomplished that," Oswald snarled "they accomplished that and more. Didn't mean for it to happen my arse. She got scarred more than anyone thanks to those idiots and all they say to your friend is that they didn't mean it? Are they begging for a death wish?"

"I don't know sir, why don't you ask them?"

"I intend to Sheldrake, once we find them and deal with them personally."

"So what now Boss?" Falcone finally spoke up. Oswald thought about it for a second but before he could even reply to his henchman's comment his attention's along with the other men were diverted to the doorway of the kitchen room as a small figure leant against the doorframe.

"Yes, what now? That is an excellent question," The figure spoke and as they stepped into the light the henchmen's eyes widened in surprise. It was a woman, a rather short one. She had a bird of prey perched on her shoulder and her right eye was obviously scarred and faded. She wore a creamy coloured outfit and her hair was tied up in a bow.

"Scram lady," Eagleton snapped rudely not even acknowledging her as she made her way to the table. "Women aren't welcome here." Oswald was about to protest at his henchman for addressing his Abigail that way, but before he could he was halted by Abigail herself who simply held her hand up as a mischievous smirk attached itself to her features. She stood behind Eagleton's chair and surprisingly enough he was startled by her presence, but it was unknown to him what she was about to do next. This man wouldn't see it coming.

"Oh really?" Abigail said rather calmly, she then signalled to Claw to do a particular move she had taught him and unfortunately for Eagleton, he never saw it coming until it was too late. Claw flapped rapidly right in front of Eagleton's face causing him to stand up and wave his hands about like a banshee in an attempt to get the bird to leave him alone. Abigail then suddenly grabbed his chair with both of her arms and moved it away so when Eagleton went to sit down again, he fell off it and landed straight on his butt. Abigail simply chuckled and placed the seat back on the ground before allowing herself the honour to sit in his place.

"Why you little!" Eagleton ran to throttle Abigail who just simply turned around and glared at him. Eagleton instantly backed off when he saw her scarred eye. He knew who she was, she was in fact the woman who he was risking his neck for the Penguin. She was the cause of this entire plan the Penguin had concocted. But he knew he couldn't argue with the Penguin's girl—uh lady friend, so he simply backed off.

"Tell me Eagleton, do you know what it feels like to have your eyeballs pulled from their sockets?" Abigail asked plainly glancing down at the table not even making eye contact with him. Eagleton gulped and fiddled with his bow tie as he knew he was in hot water now. He briefly glanced over in Penguin's direction and noticed he was enjoying the situation, this made it even worse.

"U-uh no," Eagleton replied weakly causing Abigail to put on a sort of twisted yet sweet smile on her face.

"Well, as the Penguin may have told you, I am a bird trainer. And Claw here would be more than happy to oblige to do anything for his mother bird. Try a little stunt like that again you sexist big headed brute and I will personally make sure you feel everything as my buzzard twists those eyes out of your big fat head and eats them right in front of you."

"Abigail!" Oswald finally cut her off noticing she was going a bit too far with her threats. This was so unlike her. Usually she was such a kind sweet woman, but now she was acting as if she were a crime boss. On the other hand, she needed to make a good first impression on his henchmen if she wished to gain their respect, but putting the fear of death into them was his job, not hers.

"Yes Oswald?" Abigail then turned her head as she now sat next to him. Her smile dropped slightly as his face was firm and not so impressed by her tone.

"Gentlemen this is Abigail Nighting, the woman who I told you about," Oswald motioned to them. Abigail then spoke up yet again with a more professional tone.

"But in this operation you may call me the Nightingale," Abigail began "now you have been called here because of what happened to me a week ago and Oswa-uh I mean the Penguin and I seek revenge. Now I don't want this operation to be broadcasted throughout the world considering we only want to humiliate and eventually do away with these so called bozos who have ruined my former life. But I don't mind a bit of fun in the process. Please take into consideration that I am not trying to take over this entire operation but I wish to be involved considering the incident which gained me one useless eye and a bloody scar tissue to go with it is the whole point in this scheme."

"So anyway," Oswald cleared his throat "the Nightingale isn't my new henchgirl, more like a second in command. If I am not around to give the orders, go to the Nightingale and she will give you instructions."

"Since when did this become like the army?" Sheldrake whispered into Falcone's ear only to be nudged in the stomach by his partner.

"Do we have the location of the scumbags?" Abigail put a little emphasis on the _'scumbags'_ part. She loved to refer to Matt and Jack as any cruel but sophisticated word as possible in the English language, not that anyone could hardly blame her.

"Yeah," Sheldrake replied "they're currently located in an old factory nearby Gotham bridge."

"Perfect," Abigail clasped her hands together.

"Uh, Boss?" Falcone spoke up raising his hand weakly. Soon everyone's eyes averted towards him, this made him feel a little awkward but he continued on anyways. "Now that Abig- uh I mean the Nightingale is a part of our operation, why don't we give her a test?"

"Yeah, so she can demonstrate her skills on how to become a swift criminal," Sheldrake added.

"Perhaps a bank heist or something?" Eagleton finally spoke up for the first time since Abigail put him in his place.

Oswald rubbed his chin as his henchmen placed all of these absurd notions forward. What was the point in trying to obtain a quiet operation if you attracted the attentions of the police or the Batman by committing a petty robbery? If they got him on their case they could kiss their free lives away from prison goodbye. But on the other hand, Abigail did need to prove how efficient she was in being a criminal, even if it was only going to be for one operation. She couldn't just walk into the building unprepared and not knowing what she was doing. Plus she needed to prove herself, not to him, but to Falcone, Sheldrake and Eagleton. She needed to gain their trust and prove there was more to her than a simple minded bird trainer. Although Oswald personally wasn't prepared to take the risks because he wanted a normal life after this operation he in some ways agreed to it. But at the same time he was fully against it. But somehow in his heart he knew there was no going back. Even if they did manage to not get any attentions of anyone to do with the law, he knew that he and maybe even Abigail may be drawn back to committing more crimes. The temptations were sometimes just too great. Of course he didn't want to say yes, but he would see what Abigail would think about it. And if she could pull this off without getting the polices or Batman's attentions, the more of a chance she could be a great partner in crime later on.

"I am up to that," Abigail said eagerly, much to Oswald's displeasure. "What do you want me to steal?"

"Gentlemen," Oswald interrupted rather unexpectedly "have you not taken into consideration that this is going to be a quiet operation? We cannot afford to draw attention to ourselves."

"Aw, c'mon Boss," Sheldrake wined "Nightingale is up for the challenge. Plus if we play safe and disable the security systems we can go in and go out again just like that!"

"Yeah Boss," Falcone continued winking towards Abigail as he said this "plus we'll be able to see how swift and stealthy a nightingale can really be."

"I don't know," Oswald frowned "this seems such a big risk to put our plan in jeopardy for some small heist so Abigail can show us her skills."

"I can do it," Abigail reassured him placing her hand on his while giving him an encouraging smile. "I'll be in and out of there in a flash. Batman won't have time to even think what's wrong let alone act upon it."

"It's a date then," Sheldrake clasped his hands eagerly "tomorrow we'll see what the Nightingale is truly capable of."

Oswald remained silent throughout the rest of the meeting and sat there thinking. He wasn't prepared to risk all of this just for some stupid and worthless heist. The only things he was looking forward to now were seeing those scoundrels pay, and living his life with Abigail, normally that is. Nothing else in the world mattered anymore. He could care less about his criminal reputation and would give up the criminal act entirely if it wasn't for avenging Abigail. The thrill of being a criminal didn't appeal to him anymore, not as long as he had someone to share his worthless life with. Abigail had after all taken him under her wing when no one else would. She trusted him, cared for him like no other and finally learned to love him. And even though this had happened very fast (in the space of two weeks to be exact) she still treated him with so much kindness and love that he did not wish to loose her now. That was what he feared the most. That he would loose the true Abigail Nighting to a heartless woman who only wished to avenge herself and didn't care if she hurt people in the process. Even though they had promised to each other that they wouldn't go back down that dark path, Oswald couldn't help but feel that something was about to change for the worse. After all, no promise can be kept for certain.

Later on after the meeting Abigail, Falcone, Eagleton and Sheldrake sat in the kitchen area watching the small TV that was attached to the wall rather unstably. But it was an added bonus that it was still upright let alone the fact that it still worked. Meanwhile Oswald was in a small office that was another room between the entrance and the kitchen. Oswald sat there continuously reading over the same files thoroughly until he came to the decision to leave it. He still had a lot on his mind and he had to discuss some things over with Abigail. He needed to know where they stood with the current events going on around them, plus he desperately needed some questions to be answered that only she could answer.

"Abigail, may I have a word with you in my office?" Oswald asked popping his head out of the office door. Abigail nodded and swiftly stood up as she headed towards the office. She noticed the cheeky Sheldrake whisper something into Eagleton's ear as she walked by, but he never counted on her hearing it.

"Looks like Penguin called Nightingale in for some smoochy time," Sheldrake nudged his friend and smirked mischievously. Abigail simply groaned and rolled her eyes at the immature man and carried on walking. She had wondered if these men acted their ages instead of their shoe sizes every now and then. It would be a nice change to see them act seriously for once.

Once Abigail entered Oswald's office she shut the door and slowly turned around to face him. Oswald stood up from his chair and made his way over to her. Both stood there awkwardly until Oswald decided to finally speak.

"I am rather impressed with how you handled yourself out there my dear," Oswald said plainly much to Abigail's surprise.

"You're serious?"

"Quite," Oswald continued "it was quite an act you put on out there to get my henchmen's attention."

"Who said it was an act?" Abigail said not really helping Oswald's current predicament.

"Oh come on Abigail, you cannot say that you were being serious out there."

"I was."

"But Abigail, we agreed that you would only become the Nightingale for this one time. Then we could continue our normal life's and act as if nothing had changed," Oswald hoped she would agree but was actually taken aback by what she would actually say.

"That's the thing isn't it? It's all an act. Oswald I am no longer who I was. I have changed, a lot! And it is all thanks to the effects this scar has given me. I cannot see the right side of my body anymore and I struggle to use my left side considering I am right handed and often depend on my vision from my right eye. But it's gone now and it will never come back. Now what makes you think society will accept me for this?" Abigail dramatically pointed to her right eye causing Oswald to stop and think before replying.

"We could get a plastic surgeon to help you-"

"What?" Abigail cut him off "to cover the scars? To make me look normal again? Oswald I cannot hide who I truly am. Not for you or for anyone else. If society find it hard to accept me then tough! I don't care anymore."

"Abigail what are you saying?" Oswald shook his head obviously gobsmacked by hearing this.

"You know the promise we made to each other last night Oswald? The one about us continuing our relationship back to normal after we do away with the scum who did this to me?"

"Yes?"

"Well I don't think I can," Abigail began "don't you see? There is no going back. My old life died in that fire. My career is ruined, my eyesight is a permanent burden I will carry the rest of my sorry life and my reputation is shattered like pieces of glass discarded on the floor. There is no normal life awaiting me anymore. I don't expect you to understand this but I feel that even though I will have my revenge I don't think that will be enough. It's kinda like what happened to you. Society and your own family pushed you to crime because they wouldn't accept you, and now you are one of the most feared criminals in Gotham city. What chance of a happy life could I possibly get now with all that has happened to me?"

"What chance of a happy life could you get behind bars? Did you ever think of that Abigail?" Oswald pressed forward obviously disagreeing with everything "all I want is for you to be happy my love, but how can I make you happy if we are wanted criminals?"

"We'll be together," Abigail replied "and to me that would be enough."

"Abigail," Oswald breathed as Abigail placed her arms around his neck and began to embrace him "all I want is for you to be happy and not be held back by others. If this heist means so much to you I will give you my permission to do it, under one condition."

"And what would that be my love?" Abigail smirked pulling away from him slightly.

"That you be careful."

"Oh Ozzy," Abigail teased gently touching his nose with one of her small manicured fingers "when am I ever not careful?"

Oswald reached up and pulled her arms down and placed them on his chest. Abigail stared into his eyes and a small gentle smile appeared on her face. He held her close as she finally leant in close and they shared a long passionate kiss. Several minutes later Oswald broke away and whispered softly in her ear.

"I love you my Nightingale." Abigail couldn't help but grin and leant in to his ear.

"I love you too my Penguin."

And with that the two birds continued to kiss and held each other close. Of course this was a change of plans, but a minor setback. Penguin's henchmen wanted to see what their second in command could do so they challenged her to steal some money from the bank. Obviously Abigail accepted that challenge gladly not expecting trouble. Just as long as they played safe and disabled the security systems and didn't bring in the attentions of the police of Batman, they stood a pretty fair chance of not getting caught. That was if they went according to plan of course. But if they knew then what would happen the next day, they would've definitely not gone to that particular bank. Things weren't going to go to plan, and it was all thanks to three other well known criminals who had set their sights on the same thing. Money.

Authors note: The next chapter will be full of action and drama and a few past or frequently mentioned criminals will be making an appearance. I know all of you want this story to end happily but it will have its twists and turns. Abigail is the Nightingale now and she and Oswald will bring the house down. Literally! Anyway please review and I shall update soon. Thanks!


	15. Chapter 15: The heist and the getaway

Chapter 15: The heist and the getaway

Authors note: Thank you all for the reviews! This chapter is full of action and a bit of suspense also. And as I said ages ago, several re-occurring villains make an appearance in this chapter. Now you'll see how awesome the Nightingale can be. Enjoy!

It was simple: Park up, disable the alarms, get in the building, rob the safe, and lastly get out again. Pretty straight forward right? That's what the Nightingale thought anyways. But who knew what lurked inside the bank at this very point of time. She was completely oblivious to who was actually on the same heist as her. To her, it was the night time and no one bothered with the bank this late. But that was what she thought anyways. And if she actually knew who was inside, she would've most definitely not gone in.

After parking the limousine outside the back entrance on the bank Falcone stopped the car and he and the others prepared Abigail for her first ever criminal escapade. While Falcone sat in the driver's seat, Oswald was the front passenger and Eagleton, Sheldrake and Abigail sat in the back of the vehicle. Oswald was frowning (surprise, surprise) and just clutched his umbrella tightly remaining silent while Falcone joined in the conversation behind as Sheldrake and Eagleton gave Abigail the instructions.

"Now it's quite simple really," Eagleton explained clutching a map of the bank and laid it on his lap while the others observed "it's a walk in walk out situation. Just as long as you disable to alarm box."

"Which would be where exactly?" Abigail asked eyebrows arching slightly.

"Oh, just outside the building over there," Eagleton pointed across the street toward a small grey box that was attached to the wall near the back door. "Remember you cut the blue wire, and it should disable all of the alarm systems in the building."

"The blue wire," Abigail repeated "got it!"

"Yeah, you shouldn't have any hassle;" Sheldrake explained with a headphone plug in one of his ears "according to the police radio frequency, Batman is preoccupied with a break in at the garden centre around three miles away from here."

"Poison Ivy?" Falcone asked blankly.

"Who else?"

"Well that provides the distraction for ol' Batsy and the junior leotard club. Good luck Nightingale." Eagleton finally said. Abigail nodded swiftly before opening the car door; she paused before exiting the vehicle and turned back around and looked towards the front passenger's seat where Oswald sat obviously in a mood. Abigail patted his shoulder to get his attention and finally spoke to him.

"Aren't you going to wish me good luck?" Abigail asked rather stubbornly and Oswald just frowned and gave her a sad look.

"Just be careful," Oswald replied making Abigail roll her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh. He decided to keep the peace and do as she wished "and good luck."

Abigail kissed his cheek, despite the fact their henchmen were watching and exited the car with a pair of pliers Sheldrake had given her to cut the wire, and a small gun, just in case she caught herself in a bit of trouble. Today Abigail had actually left Claw back at the hideout, she did plan on using him, after all she had recently taught him some new tricks, ones he would never use if he were still in the show. But today her trusty bird was not needed. Plus she needed to do this alone.

Rushing to the other side of the street Abigail bent down and opened the small grey box attached to the wall of the bank and carefully examined which wires required cutting. After locating the blue wire she cut it and closed the box up carefully. Abigail stood up and turned back to the limousine and put her thumb up to her henchmen and Oswald. They grinned and thumbed up back before she waved them a final goodbye and entered the bank through the back door after unlocking it with her hair grip. She was now doing this solo. Or so she thought.

Abigail cautiously kept her wits about her as she walked down the empty corridor to the main room in the building. She was told that the safe was in the office of one of the staff booths in this particular room so she made sure she could find it without disturbing anything major. She gazed into the booths through the glass not realizing someone was in fact creeping behind her. Suddenly Abigail felt something cold touch the back of her head; this was followed by a sharp click. She froze in a paralyzed position as a gruff voice spoke to her from behind.

"Stay where you are, unless you want some bullet holes to go with that beautiful scar." Abigail put her hands up as her insides began to shiver. She now knew what was being pressed against her skull, a very large gun. She didn't know who stood behind her but she had a rough idea who it was. Who in Gotham had a very rough voice and often killed people on heists? The Joker? No, his voice was too cheerful and he would've laughed by now. The Riddler? Since when did the Riddler have a rough voice and shoot people? Unless death by riddle counted of course. Scarecrow? No she would've inhaled a fear toxin and started to hallucinate by now. So that only left three people. The Ventriloquist, Killer Croc or… Two-face!

Abigail was suddenly pulled around to face the unknown gunman and her eyes widened in fear. Her suspicions were correct. Two-face stood before her with a furious look on his bad face and a frustrated look on his normal. Abigail had never met Two-face and actually never wanted to. She always feared him, and now he was holding her at gunpoint. This was not good.

"Who are you working for?" Two-face demanded now releasing the gun from her head and placing it on her neck. Abigail was frightened but at the same time, she had taken on the Joker before, and now she wasn't as venerable as she was back then. She had actually grown used to this kind of thing since she met Oswald. Abigail simply stared up at Two-face and smirked confidently much to her own surprise.

"Who say's I'm working for anybody?" Abigail answered back rather sarcastically. Two-face then slammed her against the glass of the booth and continued to press the gun into her flesh.

"Lie to me again, and going face first into a glass booth will be the least painful experience of tonight!"

"I'm not working for anyone!" Abigail insisted but Two-face knew she was lying. He was after all the district attorney once in his former life as Hervey Dent, he knew when people lied or not after prosecuting them in court.

"Are you mocking me lady?" Two-face roared grabbing Abigail's hair and pulling it back to control her head. She let out a few cries of pain but she wasn't going to reveal anything to this creep.

"No."

"Well you're dangerously close to being thrown into a wall. I was planning on robbing this bank tonight, but obviously your employer thinks he can double-cross me. No one double-crosses Two-face!"

"I can see that," Abigail muttered.

"What do they call you?" Two-face ordered still pressing her head against the glass with his blue deformed hand. Abigail smirked.

"They call me the Nightingale, and besides you cannot kill me just like that."

"Oh yes I can lady," Two-face began "but that would be too damned easy. I'll flip for it in a minute just as soon as your boss comes out in an attempt to rescue you."

"Oh I don't think he'll show," Abigail stammered as Two-face pulled her out of the cracked glass and pulled her to the centre of the room. He pressed the gun to her skull again and grabbed onto her hand at such a force she almost cried out in pain.

"Oh he'll show, and then I can send him a message!" Two-face then smacked Abigail across the scarred side of her face and obviously because it was still a new flesh wound Abigail cried out in agony. This would get his attention. But unfortunately for Two-face, he had no idea Abigail was actually working with his old rival/fellow Rogue the Penguin. And also he had no idea how the Penguin would react to seeing Two-face hold the woman he loved at gunpoint.

…

Meanwhile back in the limousine the Penguin and his henchmen sat in the car awaiting the Nightingale's return with the money. She had managed to not set any alarms off so that proved she hadn't got caught. But what on earth could be taking her so long to return? Oswald was growing very concerned very quickly. It was only a five minute job but somehow she had taken almost ten minutes and hadn't exited the bank yet. He debated whether he should go in and see what she was doing. She could be in some sort of trouble and that was the last thing he wanted tonight. But he was going to get it whether he wanted it or not.

"How long has it been now?" Oswald asked glancing towards Falcone who sat in the driver's seat just staring out of the window. He glanced at his watch casually and then looked up towards Oswald as he answered.

"Around eleven minutes why?"

"That's it!" Oswald exclaimed as he went to open the car door. His henchmen gave him funny looks as he exited the car and grabbed his umbrella.

"Boss where are you going? Isn't Nightingale meant to do this thing on her own?" Eagleton asked obviously puzzled by his employer's departure.

"Something is obviously wrong in there; I am merely going to investigate." Oswald explained.

"Want us to come with you?" Sheldrake queried as Oswald shut the car door.

"No, I need you three to stay here;" Oswald replied as he began to walk off toward the bank "I shouldn't be long."

"Alright," Falcone muttered then grinning as he turned to his friends "say now Pengy's left, why don't we listen to the radio?"

"Sure."

…

As Oswald entered the bank he couldn't help but feel some kind of chill creep up his spine as he made his way to the main part of the building. He searched around for Abigail but he couldn't hear her or see her anywhere. But soon enough he heard a voice, actually come to think of it… two voices! Oswald took a deep breath and boldly made his way to where the voices came from. Unaware he was about to step into some sort of trap.

At first he thought Abigail had come into some sort of a minor setback with some security guard or something and was going to deal with the problem quickly, but soon his mind changed onto something else. Oswald noticed the second voice was rather gruff and rather angry, Abigail's voice sounded rather innocent yet sarcastic at the same time. It wasn't until the situation was revealed to him that he actually realized who it was.

So there was Abigail, standing in the middle of the large room with a taller man pressing a gun into her skull, her face was full of fear yet acceptance. She didn't look like she cared whether this man would shoot her or not, but she had been through enough lately and it seemed like nothing in the world bothered her anymore. Oswald gasped as the man turned his head and revealed himself to be no one other than Two-face. His face looked its usual angry self on both sides; it was times like these that Oswald ever wondered if Two-face ever smiled. Knowing him and his anger issues he probably didn't. But Oswald was immediately in a protective mode as he saw Two-face purposely injure his Abigail whilst taunting her with that metal gun sticking into her flesh. He obviously had to step in and defend her; she couldn't help herself this time.

"Step away from her Two-face," Oswald ordered causing both Two-face's and Abigail's attentions to go back to the corner of the room. Two-face's eyes widened as his old associate the Penguin stepped out of the shadows pointing his umbrella gun at him with a deadly yet defensive glint in his eyes. Two-face glanced from Oswald to Abigail then back again and let out what sounded like a grumble.

"So you're her boss?" Two-face began "well there is a surprise. I didn't think you employed women in your little bird club Ozzy."

"Oh I didn't employ her. She is my partner;" Oswald replied "now let her go."

"This just got interesting," Two-face continued "a Nightingale and a Penguin. Tell me Oswald old chum, do you recall the last time our paths crossed?"

"Yes," Oswald said "as I recall you stole a priceless jewelled bird antique from out under my nose and then sold it to a bunch of mindless drones who just melted it down for scrap."

"Yeah, but it was worth the money those morons paid for it!" Two-face let out a cold hearted laugh and then noticed Oswald's gaze on Abigail. He looked at her full of concern, she had a cut oozing with blood on her left cheek and she looked as if she were in pain. Two-face then realized, he was such an idiot! These two were more than partners in crime. "Now I remember, you and this woman were on the news. You two are involved more than just criminally."

"Two-face!" Oswald snapped impatiently "let her go!"

"Oh I think not," Two-face smirked looking down at Abigail, she refused to look at him and shut her eyes as he began to feel her scarred area on her face "come to think of it, I would love to see your reaction when I decide whether she survives the next two minutes or not."

"You wouldn't."

"I wouldn't?" Two-face scoffed then clicking his gun loudly against her head as he shoved it further in her skull violently causing her to shake with fear "I wouldn't have the second's hesitation of blowing her head clean off her body at this precise moment!"

"Do that and I wouldn't have the second's hesitation of doing the same to you my old fellow felon," Oswald threatened clicking his umbrella gun as he pointed it towards Two-face's head. Two-face got out his coin and waved it in front of Abigail's face twisting it around revealing both the good side of the coin and the bad side of it. He continued to torment her as he spoke with a somewhat dangerous tone.

"Good heads you live," Two-face twisted the coin around on its good side revealing the normal head. He then began to twist it slowly revealing the other scratched head that obviously posed as the bad side. Abigail gulped and fixed her good eye on the coin and then on to Oswald again. Fear was definitely evident on her face now, and this was the first time the Nightingale actually showed that she was in fact afraid. But this was Two-face after all; even Abigail Nighting couldn't stand him.

"Stop it!" Oswald roared literally screaming at Two-face to stop pointing a gun at his beloved Abigail. He now feared for her life too. He and Two-face weren't exactly on speaking terms because of past grudges but he did not want Abigail to be involved in something that only involved him and the split personality nutcase who stood before him pressing a gun against the head of the woman he loved. And even though he wasn't actually in the firing line, he still would've gladly given his life for her if it meant Abigail lived, if it ever came to that of course.

"Bad heads you die," Two-face continued not even listening to Penguin's panicking babble. He didn't even care if Oswald was Abigail's partner in crime/lover, he had to teach this woman a lesson that she couldn't take on someone like Two-face and go away unpunished. Two-face went to flip the coin in the air as Oswald let out one final mad squawk in an attempt to convince the Rogue to stop tormenting her.

"TWO-FACE!"

As the coin flipped from each side when Two-face threw it up in the air Abigail placed her hand on her belt where she had placed her gun. Two-face had taken one sturdy hand away from her side when he went to flip his precious coin. And from this, Abigail took advantage of an opportunity. She only had one shot at this so she needed to make it count. Just a split second before Two-face could let his coin land on his blue acid burnt hand, Abigail slipped her gun out of her belt and suddenly elbowed him in the stomach as hard as she could. Two-face instantly keeled over and let out a cry of agony as the Nightingale swiftly spun around and stood before him now pointing her gun at him. He growled and snarled at her viciously as he bent down to pick up his fallen coin and then pointed his gun at her not hesitant to shoot.

"Why you little-!" Two-face would've shot her if it wasn't for a large umbrella being poked right up close to his face. His attention soon turned from Abigail to Oswald but his expression didn't change. Oswald wore a stern glare and pointed his umbrella at his former fellow Rogue with not even a hint of resistance in his eyes.

"If you want her, you'll have to get through me!" Oswald snapped causing Two-face to step back a little. He muttered a few curses before revealing yet another gun, this time he pointed it directly at Oswald but this didn't make him flinch. This was certainly not the first time the Penguin had a gun pointed to his head, and it would most certainly not be the last, not if he met his former associate Rogues like this.

"Defending your girlfriend won't stop me Penguin, if you stand in the way you're both dead!"

The situation was growing more and more intense by the second. There stood the Penguin, the Nightingale and Two-face all guns blazing. Two-face held two guns, one in each hand, one pointed at Nightingale and the other pointed at Penguin. Penguin held onto his umbrella gun and kept it pointed towards Two-face's face, the bad side that is, while Nightingale held her gun steadily just aimlessly choosing any random yet decent part of his body that was worth shooting. The situation remained this way until a sudden unexpected interruption from the main entrance averted everyone's attentions to another person. One who actually made their eyes widen in disbelief.

There in front of Two-face, Penguin and Nightingale stood no one other than the Joker and Harley Quinn. Both were grinning as they entered the bank not even realizing or caring about the intense moment they had just interrupted. Harley Quinn was carrying a rut sack full of explosives and the other various practical jokes/weapons they often used on their crime sprees. Two-face scowled even more as the two crime clowns entered. How many more criminals were planning on joining the heist? Why not invite all of the inmates of Arkham asylum and Stonegate penitentiary and throw a massive party?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a scene for the Gotham Rogue's photo gallery. Say Harley did you bring a camera?" Joker asked his Hench girl obviously finding the situation before them amusing. But hey this was the Joker after all. He found anything humorous whether it be an actual joke or the pain and misery he brought to people. Two-face suddenly restricted his guns away from Oswald and Abigail and held them back, Oswald and Abigail did the same and watched as Joker and Harley held their own private conversation in front of their faces.

"No I didn't Mister J," Harley replied rather weakly.

"Well that's a bummer; we could've made a great album of memories from this very scene. You could've got a picture of me and Pengy, then me with Two-face, then the three of us. Then we could have had one with the girl and Two-face because they seem to think scars are the prevailing fashion. But SOMEONE decided to forget to bring a camera!" Joker exclaimed shouting towards Harley in a rather angry manner as Harley just shuddered and scrunched her shoulders and head together defensively.

"Sorry Mister J, you didn't say..."

"Oh shut up Harley and do us all a favour. See you're making Two-face mad!" Joker then pointed towards Two-face who was obviously growing seriously impatient and angry with the crime clown. Two-face could barely stand Joker anyway so this just made the situation more difficult.

"Get lost clown this is my heist!" Two-face snapped as he stormed up to Joker in a mad temper, Joker simply chuckled and grinned like his usual maniac self causing Two-face to get even angrier.

"Temper, temper Harv," Joker said casually "you could blow a gasket in one of those faces of yours if you aren't careful."

"I could blow your head off and do us all a favour!" Two-face suggested pointing one of his guns at Joker's head. Joker stopped grinning and just held onto Two-face's arm and guided the gun away from his head before speaking rather evilly.

"You know Two-face, the last time you held a gun to my head I recall I broke your hand. We do not wish to be violent in front of the girls now do we?" Joker's attentions then diverted straight onto Oswald and Abigail his grin came back as he strolled away from the raging Two-face towards the wary bird pair.

"Say Pengy," Joker began yet again eyeing Abigail up and down curiously "isn't she the lady we ran into two weeks ago on our heist? You sly fox you! She's still cute, even though she has a scar now. Seems that Two-face isn't the only one to have half a normal face."

"You can talk clown boy!" Abigail exclaimed rather abruptly. Joker smirked and circled his way around her.

"My, my, you don't have any manners now do you sugar?" Joker said then placing one of his purple gloved hands on the green flower on his jacket pointing it toward her grinning wickedly "perhaps I will have to teach you some."

"Lay one finger on her Joker and I will turn that smile of yours upside down," Oswald warned pointing his umbrella at him wearily taking Joker aback a little. But before Joker could reply, Two-face butted in changing the subject rather rapidly.

"Wait, why the heck are you four here? This is my heist!"

"Actually Two-face," Joker began levelling his face with Two-face "as I recall I am the No1 feared Rogue in all of Gotham, so quit your jabbering and let us master crime clowns do the act."

"Get out of my face clown!" Two-face roared shoving Joker away not realizing he was digging his own hole, Joker simply grinned and tapped his shoulder.

"Oh Two-face, why do you make it so easy for me to torment you? I would ask which one but I don't want a table thrown at my head again."

"Just shut up!" Two-face ordered but Joker continued to pester him. To him it was an amusing sight, but Penguin knew that if Joker annoyed Two-face much more, he would probably lash out at him or worse. He knew these two from his past encounters with them, and often they turned violent when angry.

Oswald watched as the two criminals bickered like children. He dared not get involved if he wished to keep his head attached to his body, so he let the two war it out themselves. He noticed Harley Quinn was no longer around and wondered where she went of to. But his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden nudge on his side. Oswald turned and saw Abigail standing right next to him, she leaned inwards and whispered something in his ear making sure the two squabbling felons couldn't hear what she was about to do.

"Keep them busy," Abigail explained "I'll go get the money."

Oswald nodded and remained where he stood while Abigail slipped away unnoticed. She made her way into the booth and unlocked the door that was at the other end of the room. After entering she immediately saw the large safe she was aiming to ransack in front of her. She noticed it was unlocked, obviously the fools who left the bank after closing time forgot to lock it, oh well… this was one less job for her to do.

The loud sounds of both Two-face and Joker bickering could be heard as Abigail began to load the money from within the safe into her bag. She continued to do this until yet again she felt a cold metal touch her skull, she sighed. This was becoming too much of a reoccurring thing.

"Don't ya load another dollar missy!" The squeaky voice from behind demanded and much to Abigail's relief, she already recognised that voice. She was no longer worried as she knew the person with the gun did not have the guts to shoot her. It was good old Harley Quinn, the human punching bag for the humour of the Joker.

"Oh I am sorry," Abigail said placing her hands in the air turning around "I didn't see your name on this."

"Hey don't I know you?" Harley asked holding her gun back a bit Abigail shrugged and smirked.

"We have met before, but I looked different back then."

"Oh I remember," Harley grinned "you're Pengy's girl! Ooh nasty scar ya got there."

"I know," Abigail began placing a hand on it rubbing it gently "but I'm alive and well I guess."

"You're alright bird girl," Harley smiled "sorry if I scared ya the first time we met. Nothing personal right?"

"No of course not," Abigail then glanced to her right and noticed a can on top of a small grey file cabinet. She had to focus her left eye more to read what it said but when she realized it read 'pepper spray' she had an idea.

"If ya'll excuse me," Harley moved in to the safe and grabbed Abigail's discarded bag and picked it up as she continued to load it "Mista J will want the loot ASAP."

"Say Harley?" Abigail asked placing a hand behind her back as she grabbed the can from the cabinet.

"Yeah bird girl?" Harley replied still loading all of the money in the sack not even realizing what Abigail was about to do.

"Nothing personal!" Abigail then brought the spray forward and Harley turned her head in her direction for a clear shot. Abigail pressed down the nozzle and sprayed pepper spray into Harley's eyes. Harley dropped the bag and squealed in pain as she clutched her eyes. Abigail bent down and picked the bag of loaded money up and then observed Harley as she had a mini fit on the floor before finally running off. But as Abigail left the room Harley let out a loud call which could spell disaster for both her and Oswald if they didn't leave immediately.

"MISTER J!" Harley wailed still clutching her now red raw eyes as she began to sit up off the floor. Soon enough Joker stormed into the room in a mad rage with Two-face close behind and once Joker noticed Harley sitting on the floor covering her eyes below an empty safe his white face began to turn a bright shade of red.

"WHAT?!" Joker roared as Harley began to whimper and wave her free arm around like a ninny.

"The bird lady took all of the loot," Harley explained and with a mad fit of rage Joker kicked her across the room. That was one hell of a kick!

"YOU IDIOT!" Joker fumed then clutching his fists together and turned around to notice only Two-face stood behind him. He was now really furious and just before his face was about to explode he finally let out a loud furious groan. He now knew that the two bird felons had tricked him, and now he was at the stage of madness that he could kill them. He finally shouted one word before storming out of the booth with Two-face in tow. "PENGUIN!"

…

Abigail sprinted back into the main room of the bank where Oswald stood. She had somehow managed to sneak her way past Two-face and Joker and make her way to him. She stopped running as she approached him in an attempt to get her breath back. Oswald noticed the sack she was carrying with her left hand was full and he knew instantly that she had succeeded in doing the task she was set out to do. They both grinned at each other, but their victory was short lived as a sudden raging voice broke the air and it called Oswald's name.

"PENGUIN!"

By this point both Abigail and Oswald ran towards the back exit where their henchmen awaited inside the limousine. They knew if Joker or Two-face had caught them, they would be dead meat. Abigail clutched onto the sack full of money tightly aiming not to drop any of it. If she did, then all of this would have been for nothing. After exiting the building Abigail and Oswald practically sprinted across the street alerting Eagleton, Falcone and Sheldrake from their relaxed chilling state.

"Start the car!" Oswald ordered as he and Abigail scrambled to their doors. Abigail went around the car to the right back seat while Oswald went to the front passenger door. As they both managed to open the door a sudden loud bang came from the back exit of the bank.

"There they are!" Joker roared as he and Two-face exited the door carrying large guns in there hands. Both looked extremely infuriated and had a deadly 'I'm ready to kill' look attached to their already angry faces. Abigail and Oswald paused for a split second as both were about to get into the car, both of their eyes widened as the two Rogue's ran towards them. Both swiftly got into the limousine soon though as both Joker and Two-face stood in the middle of the road aiming their guns at the car.

"Get them!" Two-face shouted as he and Joker opened fire at the Penguin's vehicle and all of the people inside. Falcone panicked and struggled to gain control of himself and the car as he accidentally put it in reverse. He then noticed out of the corner of the side view mirror on the car that they were expecting company.

"The cops are here!" Sheldrake took the words right out of his mouth informing the group of the loud sirens and the flashing red and blue lights which could now be heard and seen.

"Get us out of here now!" Oswald ordered and Falcone swiftly changed the gears so they were no longer going backwards. After zooming off from the site Abigail turned and glanced out of the back window as she saw several police officers take down Two-face and Joker. Surprisingly none of the officers followed the limousine. But someone did.

Driving away from the scene the gang finally gave a sigh of relief. The drama was now over. But they didn't know it was about to begin. A car was in fact following them, and it wasn't a police vehicle, actually it looked more like… the batmobile!

"Um, Boss…?" Sheldrake muttered weakly trying to get his employers attention. Oswald turned his head to his henchman and his eyes adjusted to an expecting position. Sheldrake weakly pointed behind him and spoke again "Is that the Batman's car?"

"What?" Oswald then shoved Sheldrake aside and looked through the back window along with Eagleton and Abigail. He instantly recognised the vehicle that was in pursuit of their own and let out a frustrated groan. "Get us away from him. NOW!"

"What do you want us to do Boss?" Eagleton enquired.

"Get him off our tail, use what ever force is necessary," Oswald then passed a large shoe box behind him and handed it to Sheldrake and Eagleton. They opened the box to reveal a variety of small and large weapons that they could use. Both Eagleton and Sheldrake took a weapon each and then opened each window. Eagleton had to lean up against Abigail to stick his gun and half his body out of the window to get a decent shot. She was not at all impressed to be pushed like that by him but she would have to put up with it if they wanted to get Batman off their case. Abigail then looked down at the box of weapons and managed to slide a small hand into the box and pick up the largest weapon in there. It looked like some kind of explosive, perhaps that could be of use! As a last resort at least.

…

In the batmobile Batman and Robin were in pursuit of Penguin's car. After a disturbance was reported in the bank Batman and Gotham PD were already on the case. After handing in Poison Ivy to police custody Batman and Robin soon took to Gotham's streets to take down more criminals. After hearing the police radio about the disturbance at the bank Batman had a rough idea that either Two-face or Joker and Harley were somehow involved but he was actually taken aback when he saw the Penguin and his henchmen at the scene. And to think Batman almost fell for that _'I've reformed'_ act! How could he have been so stupid? Penguin had done this before and Batman knew he was capable of doing it again. But this time around it was different. The reason Batman almost believed that Penguin was truly reformed was that he had finally found happiness. Oswald Cobblepot had met someone special and was prepared to put his thieving career behind him for the chance to settle down for a normal life again. But now there was this! He had re-hired his old henchmen and was making a desperate attempt to get away from him. It seemed that the temptations of crime were too great. But Batman didn't know the half of it. Even though he had a feeling about it, he didn't know the real reason why the Penguin was back in the crime business. And if he did know, he would probably feel the tiniest bit of pit for the guy.

Batman guided his car down the busy highway as the vehicle in front weaved in and out of traffic. Robin sat there with his arms crossed obviously bored by the look on his face. Batman was too busy thinking to notice this. He often brooded. And everyone else usually left him to get on with it.

Robin's eyes picked up as two of Penguin's henchmen opened two of the windows out the back of the car and leant out of them with small guns in their possession. Sheldrake and Eagleton then began shooting at the batmobile but this didn't affect the vehicle at all. Hadn't those bozos heard of bullet proof glass? This situation was similar to that time when Penguin's henchmen managed to wreck their car and then held the mechanic Earl Cooper and his daughter hostage. Wasn't it funny how past events could be compared to recent ones?

"Are they kidding?" Robin shook his head and smirked "Penguin really needs to hire guys with sense in their heads."

"It just doesn't fit," Batman said out of the blue. Robin's eyes narrowed at the random comment from his partner.

"What doesn't fit?"

"The motive," Batman explained "why on earth would the Penguin suddenly go back to crime when he had such a happy life with that woman?"

"Perhaps she dumped him and he went back to crime?" Robin suggested causing Batman to shake his head.

"No she isn't that kind of woman," Batman replied "besides I haven't heard of anything happening between the pair since the day she ran out of hospital. I wonder where she went off to…"

"Well wonder no more Batman," Robin then pointed as his eyes began to widen "I think that same woman you mentioned is the one pointing a gun at us right now…"

…

Abigail was definitely growing tired of Eagleton and Sheldrake's current escapade. She knew that their weapons had no affect on Batman's car, so why were they still wasting their bullets on that bullet proof car? She sat there growing more and more impatient by the second as Eagleton pressed his weight up against her. He and Sheldrake just continued to waste ammunition by trying to shoot through Batman's windscreen, they had no logic to aim for the tyres. Eventually Abigail got that impatient that she loaded her weapon (what looked like some sort of mini missile launcher) and tugged Eagleton by his jacket.

"Oh for crying out loud move it!" Abigail shouted grabbing Eagleton and pushing him aside like an unwanted child's toy. Eagleton shot her a half surprised glare as he regained his balance on the seat. Abigail took his place and placed her weapon in her arms as she leant out of the window. It took her several moments to adjust the weapon to its appropriate settings and then she pointed it in the direction of the batmobile. Aiming for the front hood, just below the windscreen she knew she had only one shot at this. So she had better make it count.

…

"What's that a bazooka?" Robin felt his eyes widen as he turned his attentions to Batman. Batman sat there for several moments wondering what to do. Her weapon was far deadlier than the ones Sheldrake and Eagleton possessed. A lot bigger too! One shot and a small but violent explosion would go off. Batman had seen one of these weapons before, Scarecrow had used one once full of fear toxin around a year ago, and that was one experience he would not go through again in a hurry.

Suddenly Batman pressed down a button really hard as he practically roared at his sidekick. Abigail had just fired her weapon and they had but a matter of milliseconds to get out before it went off.

"ROBIN EJECT NOW!" Batman ordered as his sidekick pressed down the eject button. Within a matter of milliseconds both caped vigilantes flew through the roof of the batmobile attached to their seats. After flying around three meters above the car the weapon hit the front hood causing a rather large explosion taking the front end of the car with it. Batman and Robin took off their seats and managed to glide to safety. Watching Penguin's vehicle ride off into the night Batman's eyes narrowed into a full on glare.

"Boy, I hate to admit it, but that Nightingale's got skills," Robin rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly.

"Yes," Batman replied keeping his eyes fixed on the fleeing vehicle "and I wonder what she is going to use those skills for."

…

Eagleton, Falcone and Sheldrake were gobsmacked by what they had just witnessed. The Nightingale had just blown up a part of the batmobile and stopped Batman and Robin from catching them. They couldn't help but feel envy towards her, not a day as a proper criminal and already she was proving she was better than the three put together. And just wait until the Penguin told them what had actually happened during the bank heist. Their run-in's with Two-face, Joker and Harley Quinn were eventful too. Today the Nightingale had messed with all of these people, and it was purely by accident. She and Penguin were not counting on anyone else being on the same heist as them, but it helped prove to everyone that Abigail was more than they expected her to be.

In the front of the limousine Oswald Cobblepot sat there with a small but still noticeable smug smirk on his face. He had just witnessed his Abigail blow up Batman's car! He had managed to wreck his car once by sabotaging it. But she just blew it up with some weapon he didn't even know they possessed. It was quite a surprising yet wonderful experience. He was extremely proud of her at this point. It was just like old times! But at the same time a hint of regret remained at the back of his head. He didn't want to drag her down the road of being a criminal, but it was too late now. Batman, Robin, the police, Two-face, Joker and Harley Quinn all knew who she was now. And soon all of Gotham would know. There was no going back for the Nightingale or the Penguin. Oswald just had to face facts, he couldn't obtain a relationship with her normally now, unless they skipped town, but they were not prepared to do that until they had achieved what they started out to do. So he would have to have a relationship with her criminally. But would that be so bad? There would be action, suspense and other experiences they could share together! But even though Oswald Cobblepot wanted a normal life, a part of him now was welcoming back the Penguin with open arms. Oh this was just the beginning.

And now the entire world would know who the Nightingale was…

Authors note: Sorry for this chapter being so long, but so much happens! I hope it was worth the read! I recon this is the best chapter in the story but what do you think? Please tell me in the review and I shall update soon! Thank you!


	16. Chapter 16: Of what is yet to come

Chapter 16: Of what is yet to come

Authors note: Thank you all for the reviews! I see a lot of you want there to be more Rogue encounters. Well I am afraid there will not be anymore encounters in this story, but I am planning on writing a series of short stories plus a sequel after this is finished to I shall be sure to take on your ideas then. This chapter is building up to the final one, not many more chapters to go now I'm afraid. But alas all good things must come to an end eventually. Anyway enough of my babbling. Onto the chapter!

After their night of action and excitement Penguin, Nightingale and their henchmen entered the hideout without a sound. Falcone, Sheldrake and Eagleton kept their mouths shut because they knew if they spoke, they would probably get their heads ripped off by Penguin. And the entire journey back he constantly moaned and complained about their incompetence and their lack of evasive action when Batman showed up. And even though the words hurt them, his henchmen decided to remain silent to keep the peace. That was until Sheldrake decided to open his big mouth and drag his friends into it too.

"Oh come on Boss, we did our best and got out of there, what's the point in being moody with us?"

"Because," Oswald began with an obviously annoyed tone "If it wasn't for the Nightingale, we would be back in our cages at Stonegate penitentiary! She was better than you three combined!"

"Then why don't you just fire us and maker her your main Hench girl and be done with it?" Eagleton snapped rather rudely crossing his arms. Oswald dramatically turned his head shooting Eagleton a hard cold glare. He then pointed his umbrella towards him and stepped forward slightly.

"Don't tempt me Eagleton!" Oswald snapped poking his umbrella right into Eagleton's nose "If it wasn't for what I am about to do, I would probably consider firing you."

"Boss, we can't help if she's suddenly your favourite," Falcone replied "we try, but we are after all your henchmen, not your bodyguards."

"I know you try, but your trying isn't good enough! Mark my words you three… another slip up like this and you're out of here, got it?" Oswald's eyes narrowed sternly as his henchmen only gazed down at their shoes, shame evident on their features.

"Yes Boss," the three spoke dully.

"Good," Oswald then motioned towards the door of his office "now you three do what you will and leave me in peace. Nightingale, on the other hand, stay. I need a word with you in my office."

Abigail made her way over to Oswald's office and let her bird perch on her shoulder. She still wore a small smug smirk on her tiny features, she hadn't stopped since she had managed to do what she thought was impossible. Not only had she put Two-face, Joker and Harley Quinn in their places, but she had blown up the batmobile! She had achieved what many others only dreamed of doing. Imagine the credit she would get! Even the top Rogues of Gotham city would appreciate her. Now that was something you couldn't buy (unless you were a crime lord of course) and that was respect among criminals.

As Abigail made her way into Oswald's office she felt the atmosphere go rather tense. She knew he wasn't proud of turning her to crime, and she could hardly blame him. He did after all love and care for her and he only wanted what was best for her. But now, times were changing. She actually wanted to become a criminal. She loved the action, the suspense and the glory of tackling other criminals for one particular goal. But would Oswald understand that? Probably not.

"I wanted to be the first to congratulate you," Oswald began with a small smile slowly appearing on his stubborn features. Abigail began to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that he wasn't going to have a go at her for her own actions. But he wasn't finished yet.

"I'm surprised at you saying that," Abigail replied "I thought you were fully against any of my actions tonight."

"I will admit, I am still weary at your new criminal skills. But now I saw you in action, I am none the less intrigued and relieved you have caught on so fast. By the way, what happened between you and Harley Quinn earlier?"

"Oh that," Abigail crossed her arms slyly "well you could say I was put into a situation when I had to pepper spray her in the eyes."

"Never?" Oswald asked his mouth dropping slightly in shock "Abigail Nighting, you not only elbowed Two-face in the stomach, but you pepper sprayed Harley Quinn?"

"Yes."

"You truly are skilful my dear," Oswald grinned but then frowned rather unexpectedly and turned away from her. Oswald hadn't just called her inside to congratulate her. Actually there was more to it, something that wasn't so joyful, for her anyways. "But despite your successful entailment tonight, we still cannot forget we now have the police not to mention Batman ruffling our feathers as it were."

"I swear I disabled the security," Abigail defended as Oswald nodded "I have no idea how the police and Batman found out. Two-face or Joker probably caused a disturbance before we arrived."

"No need to defend yourself my dear," Oswald reassured "You did well. But there is still one thing I need to speak to you about. Something that I have considered since last night and I personally think it will be for the best."

Abigail's eyebrows rose cautiously. He was wearing that guilty look. She knew he was up to no good when he wore that look. And somehow she suspected it involved her and what they were about to do.

"And that would be?" Abigail crossed her arms. Oswald glanced away and placed a hand to his forehead and wiped it before answering. He then turned and looked her dead in the eyes and grabbed her hands in his. He gazed at her full of sincerity and bit his lip as he replied.

"Abigail," Oswald finally said "you have done an incredulous job at being the Nightingale. I could never ask for a better partner in crime. You have been better than any of the henchmen I ever had in my entire criminal career and you have proved yourself to be a worthy adversary against Gotham's finest. And by that I mean both Rogue and vigilante and police finest. The way you handled Two-face, Joker and Harley actually surprised even me. Even though I am so proud of you, I still have one thing I would like you to do. Something you may not cooperate with."

"Which is?" Abigail pressed on. Oswald let out a sigh and finally revealed it.

"I want you to stay here when we go and kidnap Mathew Wright and Jack Coles."

"You cannot be serious!" Abigail choked releasing her grip on Oswald's hands "the only reason I became a criminal was for those cads to pay for what they have done to me. And now you want me to stay here when you get them? Are you out of your mind? Don't you realize what they have done to me? What they have done to us?"

"Yes, and that is exactly why I want you to stay out of it."

"Why?"

"Abigail, you have been through so much. I can't blame you for wanting revenge. But I cannot let you go through with this. You are now a wanted criminal, you're probably all over the news. Plus Joker, Harley Quinn and Two-face now know who you are and probably have a serious grudge against you as well as me. It could jeopardize everything if we both go out and get them. And it would be much safer for your sanity if you let this one thing be and let the man who loves you handle it." Oswald explained not noticing Abigail's growing temper.

"What, so now you think I'm going insane? Think I'm going to be just another _'nut-job'_ from Arkham? Is that it?" Abigail fumed much to her partner's surprise.

"I didn't say that," Oswald began.

"No," Abigail replied swiftly turning away from him "but you meant it!"

"Abigail, you may not understand this, but I am doing this for you. Now you cannot expect yourself to be in charge of this operation now because you're suddenly a criminal. Sure you may have just had a stroke of luck by blowing up the batmobile but you're not perfect. You still are mentally fragile, and yes to answer your question I am afraid that you'll go off the deep end as it were. I fear you'll go insane and become like the likes of Two-face or even Harley Quinn. And the last thing I want is for you to end up in Arkham. Don't you try and defy my Abigail Nighting, because I am the boss here. I have been a criminal a lot longer than you and what I say goes. I could treat you like I treat my henchmen, but I don't want to because I love you. But you sometimes make things so difficult for me with your stubbornness and self righteous attitudes and it doesn't help anyone. So yes, you **will** stay here when we kidnap them, and you **will** do as I say. Am I understood Nightingale?" Abigail was taken aback by Oswald's demands. This was actually their first ever fall out. But hey, what relationship didn't have its ups and downs? But she was actually shocked by the way he spoke to her. She was extremely furious yet hurt by what he had said. She wanted so hard to retaliate, but she knew how stubborn he was. So now all poor Abigail could do was just give up. But she wasn't prepared to go down just like that. She would with no doubt make it dramatic, as always.

"Fine, you win... _Boss_!" Abigail spat making the _'Boss'_ sound just like how Eagleton, Sheldrake and Falcone spoke when they were annoyed at him. She then slammed her foot down hard on the floor and turned around and headed for the door. After a deafening slam of the door she made her way back into the kitchen area where Falcone, Sheldrake and Eagleton sat with their wide eyes fixed on her. After pulling up a chair Abigail sat down and placed her head in her hands. She let out what seemed an outward yet muffled scream and hardly cared that they were watching her the entire time. She then looked up and glanced at each of the men.

"You ok Nightingale?" Sheldrake asked with what seemed a concerned tone. Abigail nodded and fixed her gaze at the floor.

"You could say me and the Boss just had a falling out," Abigail replied glumly.

"Oh Eagleton and the Boss war it out all the time," Sheldrake replied cheerfully receiving a small glare from Eagleton "but don't worry, he isn't too bad. He beats working for the Ventriloquist anyway."

"Yeah, you don't argue with the guy, just his puppet Scarface. And trust me; if you think Pengy's got a bad temper, you should see his!" Falcone spoke.

"Don't look so glum Nightingale," Eagleton encouraged "for a girl who just blew up the batmobile, you don't look so happy."

"No…" Abigail finally spoke looking away distantly towards Oswald's office "I guess I don't."

…

Later on around midnight Abigail, Sheldrake, Falcone and Eagleton sat around the table watching some sort of comedy game show with people voluntarily getting themselves hurt for the humour of the public. And while the men found it funny, Abigail wasn't too impressed. She just sat there stroking Claw as the men continued to laugh like immature school children. It often annoyed her but she chose to ignore it. And when Penguin finally appeared from his office he wore a sincere look as he carried one of his umbrellas. Abigail refused to even glance in his direction as he made his way towards his henchmen. The three men turned their heads as he spoke to get their full attention.

"Eagleton, are you ready?" Penguin asked seriously and Eagleton swiftly stood from his chair and nodded.

"Yeah Boss, am I the only one coming?"

"I think that the fewer there are on this mission, the less of a chance we get caught." Oswald explained then turning toward Sheldrake and Falcone. "Keep her company and do not, by any circumstances, leave the hideout. We do not need any suspicions aroused now. Not after what happened earlier."

"Sure Boss," Falcone and Sheldrake both replied. Eagleton followed Penguin as they made their way to the door. Oswald turned his head and frowned as Abigail didn't say a word or even pass a glance in his direction. It saddened him; he was after all doing this for her. But her gratitude wasn't showing at the moment. She was too stubborn after their little banter. But he knew she would get over it, she would have to if they wished to continue with their plan, let alone their relationship.

After exiting the premises Oswald and Eagleton made their way to the limousine. Oswald placed his umbrella on the ground and leant on it as he waited for his henchman to open the door for him. Eagleton gave him a funny glance as he opened the door and as both men entered the car. He finally decided to ask him that pressing question that had been on his mind ever since Abigail exited his office earlier.

"Hey Boss?" Eagleton began "is something wrong between you and Nightingale?"

"We just had a disagreement as all," Oswald explained obviously not wanting to press the matter any further. Eagleton on the other hand had other ideas.

"Well she seemed really upset when she exited your office," Eagleton said.

"It's none of your concern Eagleton; just get on with your job!" Oswald finally snapped. Eagleton simply shrugged and started the car. The journey remained silent until they got to where they were headed. And where they were headed, was the hideout of Matt and Jack who were not expecting what was about to happen.

…

Mathew Wright and Jack Coles were in hiding, and they had a good reason to be. After the recent events they had come to regret it all. They knew that the Penguin was after them, and not only that. Now Abigail Nighting had in fact become a master criminal now known to all as the Nightingale. This was not looking good for either of them. They both knew that if the Penguin and the Nightingale got their hands on them… well… they were more or less dead. They couldn't turn themselves in to the police, and they couldn't go to any other criminal for protection, so basically they were sitting ducks. They had been forced to hide underground basement below an old weapons factory. All they could do was wait, wait and remain hidden until all of these events passed.

"I don't like this Matt; I told you we shouldn't have humiliated her." Jack told him. Both men sat cramped and filthy in the small basement. The only light source operational was a torch and a small lamp at the end of the room which still worked. Jack was being pessimistic as usual and was putting all the blame onto Matt. Matt on the other hand just sat there clenching his fists gritting his teeth in anger. Jack had said this sentence too often and he was getting sick of it. In the end he decided to punch him hard in the face to try and shut him up.

"SHUT UP!" Matt spat throwing his fist right into Jack's jaw. Jack fell backward and hit his head off the floor while letting out a yelp. Once he regained his bearings he got back up and glared at his partner.

"What was that for?" Jack frowned rubbing his head whilst flexing his jaw where Matt had hit him.

"For being such an idiot!" Matt exclaimed "you're afraid of a petty woman with an eye problem and a few issues. How pathetic."

"You forget," Jack told him "that same woman is now working with the Penguin. Plus didn't you see that report earlier? She blew up the batmobile!"

"So?"

"So aren't you at least the tiniest bit worried she'll come for us?"

Even though he didn't like to admit it, Matt did fear this. They had created her after all. It was their fault she had that accident at the zoo and met the Penguin beforehand. If it wasn't for them, she would still be an average Gotham citizen with no issues of any kind. Now, she was becoming a well known and feared Rogue in Gotham city. She had also proved herself a worthy adversary for the Batman, so if she could stop him, what's to stop her from killing them?

"No," Matt lied.

"Well I can't wait to see your face when the Penguin gets here," Jack replied crossing his arms smugly. Matt's eyebrows arched and his shook his head in disagreement.

"Who say's he's gonna show?" Matt asked stubbornly.

"Oh come on Matt, we all know he's coming for us. It's only a matter of time before he finds us here."

"Listen you moron!" Matt poked his finger right into Jack's shoulder as hard as he could "the Penguin will not find us. I don't know why you fear him so much. He's just a fat guy with a bunch of birds and umbrella weapons. He's not worthy to be a Gotham Rogue."

"Oh really?" Came another voice as the latch above them slowly opened. Matt and Jack both lifted their heads up to see who had in fact found them hiding in the basement. It was soon revealed to them that it was in fact the Penguin and one of his henchmen making his way down to them. Both of their eyes widened in fear and surprise as he approached them "do tell me why I am not worthy of that title."

"Oh darn," Jack muttered under his breath as he and Matt stood and began to back away from the Rogue. Penguin pointed his umbrella weapon in their direction with a cold hard deathly glare pinned on his features. His eyes were full of determination and he didn't look like he were about to give up. Oh no, Matt and Jack needed a miracle right now. And would they get one? Not on their life.

"You're the miscreants who tried to kill my Abigail," Penguin began as he cornered the two at the other end of the room. Eagleton was at the other side of Matt and Jack so they truly were cornered. There was no escaping now. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end?"

"Listen man, you've got it all wrong," Jack tried to explain raising his hands in the air as if he were about to be arrested.

"Have I? I believe not."

"We didn't mean to hurt her, we just wanted to scare her," Matt explained doing the same as Jack.

"So I keep hearing," Penguin said plainly. "Tell me you two, how does it feel? To have your entire world crumble around you. To loose everything and gain so little back. Well that is what you did to my Abigail. She lost her sight, her job and maybe even her sanity thanks to you cads. Are your proud of what you did?"

"No, we only wanted to-"

"SHUT UP!" Penguin roared "you two scumbags are coming with me. And when I am finished with you, well… I don't think there'll be much left of you to be remembered by."

Matt and Jack gulped in sheer fear. Matt instantly took back all of that big talk he tried to force onto his partner. In all truth he was scared, or perhaps even more scared than his partner was. They both knew of his intentions with the pair and they didn't look to well for them at all. If only they could rewind time back to a few weeks before so that none of this ever happened. But they couldn't. They were about to pay for the crimes they had committed. And it wasn't going to be within the right side of the law.

"May. Heaven. Help. Them. All." Penguin had said. Well this time they would need more than heaven to help them get through this.

…

Sitting scrunched up on a sofa wasn't exactly how Abigail planned to spend the night. Actually she planned on kicking butt as the Nightingale instead of sitting at the hideout while Sheldrake and Falcone played as her babysitters. This really did irritate her how she was stuck with the two men who were (in her mind) the most immature men she had ever known. But getting stuck with them meant that Abigail would have to put up with them. And despite the fact they still irritated her at times, she was actually in some ways growing fond of them. She actually didn't see why Penguin always yelled at them, but to be honest they weren't the brightest bunch of men you could find in Gotham. But they did provide a bit of humour at times, even if it were at the most awkward of situations.

"Hey Night's?" Falcone began using some sort of nickname for Abigail's new alias. Abigail cringed at this; she couldn't stand that crude nickname. "Wanna watch the news?"

"Sure," Abigail said "and don't call me Night's."

"Sorry," Falcone then switched the channel with what seemed like an old yet ancient remote, complete with missing buttons and a missing battery cover. The channel was relaying latest reports and then something that had happened hours before came up. There was a picture of Abigail, as she was before her accident at the zoo, with a picture of her as she was now. Other pictures soon followed of Penguin, Two-face, Joker and Harley Quinn. The reporter sat in the studio as the videos of the nights events played. Abigail, Falcone and Sheldrake sat there watching the report curiously. Abigail smirked and placed her hand on her face.

"Fame at last," Abigail muttered as the reporter began to speak.

"Tonight Gotham city was introduced to a new Rogue calling herself the Nightingale. Once a successful bird trainer for Gotham zoo Abigail Nighting suffered trauma from an incident several weeks ago which permanently blinded her in one eye and left a burning scar as a result of the fire. Now working with the Penguin of all people she seems to be unstoppable. After a break in at Gotham central bank, she and the Penguin were confronted not only by Two-face, but also by the Joker and Harley Quinn who are now all back at Arkham asylum thanks to Gotham PD. But the Penguin and the Nightingale got away and after a pursuit from the Batman, the Nightingale shocked the world when she unexpectedly blew up the front end of the batmobile. Luckily enough he and his sidekick Robin were not harmed in the explosion, but Penguin and his gang are still out there. We interviewed Abigail Nighting's former boss Mr Hail the head of Gotham zoo this evening to hear his thoughts on his former employee's sudden escapades."

The screen then changed to outside Gotham zoo where a smug Mr Hail stood. This made Abigail clench her fists tightly. She was preparing herself for what he were about to say about her. And it couldn't be good considering the grudge he had for her. And she hated his guts, so the feeling between them was pretty much mutual. But she didn't realize she would hate him even more after what he was about to say to the whole city.

"This is just the event which makes me glad I fired her when I did. I somehow knew she would become a homicidal maniac like the Penguin and I was correct. She makes me sick to the pit of my stomach. She has turned out to be just as bad as he is. And now she's out there on the loose, no one is safe. I can only say that I lost all respect for her when she flipped out at me at the hospital. I hope the police catch this maniac soon before she causes harm to people-"

Falcone and Sheldrake literally jumped out of their skins as a loud bang came from right next to them. Sheldrake was eating a sandwich at the time and half of the filling went down his shirt when he jumped up in fear. Both men turned their heads slowly as their wide eyes locked onto Abigail. She was standing up pointing a now smoking gun at the TV. It literally blew up the television but that sound was less excruciating than the sound of the gun going off. Abigail's face said it all. She was raging, big time! And who could blame her?

"THAT TWOFACED CAD OF A LIAR!" Abigail exclaimed angrily. She then threw the gun at the ground and clenched her fists tighter. Sheldrake and Falcone simply sat there with their widened eyes obviously stunned by her. They had never seen her this angry before. She just shot the TV right in front of them! "HOW DARE HE MAKE VISIOUS UNTRUE LIES ABOUT ME!"

"Uh Nightingale, you may wanna take it easy," Falcone placed a hand on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down and it worked. Well kinda…

"He should pay for what he did to me!" Abigail continued to rant "He fired me, humiliated me and now has disgraced me on TV! He should not get away with this! He will not. To hell with what Penguin said, things have changed."

"What are you gonna do Nightingale?" Sheldrake asked. Abigail suddenly stopped raging and her mouth shifted from a piercing scowl to some sort of evil smirk. She then turned back to the two men and placed both hands on each of their shoulders.

"Say, you boys busy tonight?" Sheldrake and Falcone shrugged their shoulders oblivious to what she had in mind but they were up for what ever challenge she wished for them to do. "I have a little job for you two."

"Bring it on," Falcone boasted. Abigail simply clasped her hands together wickedly and grinned.

"Excellent."

Abigail was about to defy Oswald's orders. This could not end well…

Authors note: As you will all be glad to know, I shall be returning from holiday tomorrow so I shall be able to update much quicker (hopefully anyway). The next chapter will be a bit like the last, full of action and suspense. I look forward to the reviews! Thank you all so much!


	17. Chapter 17: The capture

Chapter 17: The capture

Authors note: Here is chapter 17. Thanks for all of the reviews! Much appreciated I now see everyone hopes Abigail isn't insane… well I won't spoil it for you but the ending may surprise you. Anyway this chapter involves the kidnap of yet another person. Plus the investigating of Batman who seems no closer to catching the two bird felons than the police. Enjoy!

Working late in the Batcave was a usual for the Batman. If he wasn't out fighting crime, he was in his cave trying to solve it. He had numerous cases open right now, but none of them were as important as his latest. He and Robin had barely escaped with their lives earlier as they pursued the Penguin's car. And neither of them were expecting what had happened, to happen. Batman had suspected for some time that Abigail Nighting was up to no good, but he did nothing to stop her. Now he had paid dearly for not taking action when he should have. And now she had managed to blow up half of their car and they had to wait until their mechanic Earl Cooper had repaired it. Batman was by no means impressed. The new found Nightingale was proving to be one of the toughest female adversaries of his time. And with other female felons like Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Red Claw, Talia Al Ghul and Catwoman… well he had his work cut out with yet another fem fatale.

He had spent half of the night running through old files and mixtures of paperwork but he found nothing. He knew that he couldn't think of what Penguin and Nightingale were about to do next. He knew it was going to be some sort of revenge act concerning the two thugs who caused the commotion at the zoo and caused her to be blinded. But he had no way of tracing them down and protecting them from her. He then noticed that both files in the Gotham's database concerning the two thugs had been stolen last week. He realized after watching various surveillance recordings, that the felons behind the robbery were none other than Penguin's old henchmen Falcone, Eagleton and Sheldrake. This proved his theory and put him into a difficult situation.

"I guess we now have Gotham's new Bonnie and Clyde," Alfred motioned to the screen as he carried a tray of tea over to his master. Batman turned his chair around slightly to glance briefly at his butler before swiftly turning back toward the screen. Pictures of both the Penguin and the Nightingale were shown on the screen and both looked extremely angry. The picture of the Penguin was taken a while before these events occurred but the picture of the Nightingale on the other hand was taken when she pointed that bazooka at his batmobile.

"I am afraid so Alfred," Batman replied "I cannot find out anything new. These two are harder to trace than the Joker."

"Speaking of whom, are the two crime clowns back in Arkham along with Two-face?" Alfred enquired.

"Yes, they revealed very little about the Penguin." Batman then paused and took a sip of his tea before finishing "but Harley Quinn did rave about something as she was escorted out of the bank covering her eyes of all places."

"And what was that sir?"

"That the Nightingale outwitted her and got her with pepper spray before taking the stolen goods for herself."

"I wonder what they wanted with that money," Alfred noted.

"I can only guess that this heist wasn't about the money," Batman explained his theory "perhaps it was a test for her to show what she was capable of. But I somehow doubt she and the Penguin counted on being ambushed by both Joker and Two-face, let alone being caught in the act by me or Gotham PD."

"Let's just say you are correct sir as always," Alfred added "but what on earth could they be building up to for their main crime?"

"I think it is an act of revenge," Batman said "I mean what criminal doesn't want revenge after being humiliated? As I recall it happened with Two-face, Clayface, Scarecrow, Riddler and many others. So judging on past experiences, what makes the Penguin and the Nightingale any different from the others?"

"So we'll just have to wait until they make their move?"

"I'm afraid so," Batman then turned off his computer screen and headed back into Wayne manor. He needed some well deserved rest after all that had happened tonight. From battling ferocious plants with Poison Ivy, to getting his car blown up by Penguin's new female partner. This wasn't his night.

…

"Well that was easy wouldn't ya say Boss?"

The Penguin and his henchman sat in the limousine driving back from their little entailment with the two thugs who now lay in the back of the vehicle unconscious. Eagleton was cool headed (as usual) but Oswald was still weary and slightly agitated as he gazed out of the window. They drove carefully back through Gotham to their hideout on the other side of the city, trying as hard as they could not to draw attention to themselves. The last thing they needed was yet another high speed chase tonight.

"Too easy," Oswald noted "I've seen the Riddler put up more of a fight, and you know how drawl he is during physical combat."

"Don't let him hear you say that, he may riddle you to death," Eagleton joked much to his own amusement. Oswald just continued to gaze out of the window lazily as he replied to his henchman.

"Oh he wouldn't do that to an old friend. Edward Nygma may seem like a rough Rogue, but really he's a gentleman just like me."

"So anyway," Eagleton changed the subject slightly "what we gonna do to these two bozos? We gonna sling them off the Gotham bridge or something?"

"What are you daft?" Oswald turned his head toward Eagleton shooting him a 'are you serious?' glance "hasn't you paid any attention to what I have been saying?"

"Uh… I know we're doing away with them," Eagleton replied guiltily causing Oswald to shake his head in disbelief.

"Henchmen, who'd have them?" Oswald muttered under his breath.

Things remained silent for a while as Eagleton continued to drive through the streets of Gotham city. Surprisingly it was still rather manic outside despite the late hour, with large amounts of traffic still about the roads. Oswald was rather shocked that they hadn't encountered Batman or any of his sidekicks, but he forgot, Abigail blew up the batmobile. Batman was probably at home trying to sort out his car so they stood little chance of getting caught by him. But still, there was Gotham PD about… and with Eagleton's manic driving, they stood a rather likely chance of getting pulled over. Then they would be in trouble!

"Eagleton you maniac, stop!" Oswald ordered causing Eagleton to slam on the brakes.

"What?" Eagleton shrugged.

"It's a red light you imbecile, or did you skip driving lessons?"

"Oh come on Boss, since when did you care about obeying the law?" Eagleton said rather calmly.

"We need to obey the rules of the road to avoid being caught by the police you idiot, or did you skip stealth class too?"

"Well _sorry_ for living." Eagleton said rather sarcastically as Oswald shook his head and rolled his eyes at his henchman.

Oswald turned his gaze out of the window again, his gaze fell on several television screens that were switched on in a TV store. The TV was relaying the latest news updates and when a picture of Abigail, or as everyone now calls her the Nightingale, came on the screen, his heart skipped a beat. Her face looked so full of anger and hatred and for some reason it melted his heart. Never before had he seen her like this. It was as if the Nightingale was now the side of her she never showed when she was just Abigail Nighting. Kinda like Two-face with his split personality but less violent. As far as Oswald was concerned, she had no split personality. Actually she was still clinically sane, so hopefully she wouldn't do anything rash and jump off of the deep end into the insane. The last thing he wanted was for her to end up at Arkham.

Pressing his hand against the cold hard glass of the window, Oswald felt a slight feeling of shame and regret pumping through his brain like a bad omen. He knew it was a bad thing to let her join him, but he gave into her because he loved her. But a big part of him wanted the old Abigail Nighting back, not the Nightingale. The kind, sweet, gentle woman, not the villainous, cruel, revenge seeking Nightingale. It was as if she were another person now. But hopefully, he could eventually turn her thoughts around and bring her back as the original woman he came to love.

Finally after what seemed a rather long wait, the traffic light finally changed back to green and Eagleton was the first person to put his foot down and drive off. As soon as they would get back to the hideout they would begin what they had set out to do. But there was now a bigger cache. Neither of them knew that the Nightingale had taken off with Sheldrake and Falcone to go get another person. But Oswald knew that when he got back, he would have a word with her and hopefully apologise for their little dispute earlier.

But they were in for a surprise when they got back…

…

After a steady drive to their destination in a stolen car, Falcone, Sheldrake and the Nightingale were preparing themselves for a minor break in at Gotham zoo. Oh this was a regular thing for Penguin's henchmen for they often robbed the zoo's aviary for the birds, Abigail Nighting had often put up with this also, in her previous life that is. She was after all once the head of the aviary at the zoo, which was until Mr Hail fired her of course. Speaking of whom… The Nightingale sat in the back of the vehicle stroking Claw with a small smug smirk plastered on her features. This was about to become the second successful heist of tonight for her. But this time, it wasn't a practise; neither was it for money or any possessions of any kind. No this time only one goal mattered, to kidnap and eventually do away with her former employer, who at this point in time was spending a time at his office.

"We're here Nightingale," Falcone explained as he pulled the brakes and stopped the vehicle. He and Sheldrake exited the car cautiously holding their guns at the ready in case anything went amiss. Abigail stepped out of the car with Claw perched on her left arm and her right hand petting him. She had her gun around her belt along with a pair of pliers, because yet again she would have to disable some minor security problems before completing her mission.

"Come along you two," Nightingale commanded leading her way into the building whilst the other two followed still weary of their surroundings.

Abigail suddenly halted as she noticed there was a closed door in her way. She knew this door quite well considering she once worked there and headed over to the code box. After typing in a code she expected the doors to automatically open, but they didn't. Letting out a frustrated grumble Abigail tried another code.

"Damn people!" She cursed aloud "trust them to change the code just after they fire me."

"Any problems Nightingale?" Sheldrake queried his second in command as she furiously typed in different codes into the box.

"Just a small minor glitch," the door then opened "aha, no need to panic gents. I found the way in."

"Uh, Nightingale?" Falcone began rather awkwardly. Abigail turned her head and quickly glanced toward her obviously troubled associate.

"Something troubling you Falcone?" Abigail queried. It was his body movements and facial expressions that gave it away.

"Well, isn't it a bit late for your boss to be working?" He then glanced at his watch pursing his lips agitatedly "I mean it's like one o'clock in the morning."

Abigail casually strolled up to her henchman and smiled surprisingly before answering his question. "Oh Falcone you silly man," she chuckled "don't you realize who you are speaking to? For years I put up with that mindless incompetent drone, don't you think by now I would know what time he would be in work?"

"Uh…" Falcone stammered as she grew closer toward him.

"Besides, I've known him to stay up later than this. Once he never left the office and we found him asleep at his desk. Sad isn't it?"

"Yeah Nightingale, very sad." Sheldrake added then trying to bring her attention back on the plan "so how are we gonna get in without being seen?"

The Nightingale chuckled at their ludicrous questions. Didn't they think for a second that she had already thought of this? Or were they as stupid as the Penguin had said?

"Why disable the power of course," Abigail then pointed towards a small door inside the building with a lightning bolt symbol on it and swiftly grabbed her pliers from within her belt. "And without power, he is completely helpless. Right where I want him… come along boys, we have a job to do."

Sheldrake and Falcone shrugged and decided to do as she instructed. She was just about as overpowering as Oswald was while on their heists, if not worse. It was as if neither the Nightingale nor the Penguin thought they were intelligent enough to figure out things for themselves. But they didn't like to complain. They did after all; want their heads to remain on their bodies.

…

Mr Hail was working late. Usually any other person would be at home and asleep at this hour, but he had jobs to do. He had no wife or family to return home to and his job was the only thing he cared about, other than making money of course. But even a man like him needed rest, yet he refused to go home. He was actually behind schedule with his paperwork and some of the new employees he would have to find to take care of certain areas in the zoo. Firstly he needed to seek out a new person to take Abigail Nighting's job as the head of the aviary department. Plus he still had trouble with the media after the incident a few weeks ago. That fire had cost the zoo a fortune in repair work, not to mention resigning the critically injured Nightingale from her job which she had taken hard to accept. He knew she was mad at him for what he did, but he didn't really care. In his mind she was just another employee who had encountered an unfortunate experience which altered her appearance and mental state. But he had no idea how deeply it effected her. Plus he didn't know that he was in fact one of the few people who had caused her fragile mind to break down and turn dark. And if he knew what he had done to cause this anguish, he would've probably not fired her. But it was too late for that. Too late indeed…

He sat at his desk glumly filling various sheets of paper with his signature of approval and so fourth. He was tired, but he needed to get these contracts sorted out before he even thought about sleep. His lamp on his desk was the only thing that illuminated the room, it strained his already blood shot eyes but he managed to put up with it. As he turned the page of one of the contracts to sign his signature, something unexpected happened. Something that wouldn't end well for him.

The lights suddenly switched off. Mr Hail's head jerked up as he was surrounded by complete utter darkness. His attentions were arisen when the sound of muffled voices and a few odd creaks came from outside his office door. Rather large shadows could been seen through the glass. Mr Hail's eyes widened slightly as he backed his chair away from his desk slightly. His hands literally rattled with fear as he attempted to remove his glasses from his bloodshot eyes.

"H-hello?" He let out weakly hoping to heck he was dreaming and he would wake up at any moment. But unfortunately for him, this was no dream; in fact it would soon become his nightmare.

The door slammed open rather unexpectedly and Mr Hail almost fell of his chair in shear fear as a rather large bird flew in and immediately began dive-bombing him. Various scratches from the bird's talons were pierced on his skin and clothing as he let out small gasps of pain. Then the shadows of two rather bulky men stormed into the room with weapons in their hands. Mr Hail was about to stand up but a large hand pushed him back down on his chair. A third, rather small female figure entered the room slyly as she made her way to the front of his desk. The bird instantly backed off and perched itself gently on her shoulder. And when she spoke, her voice rang bells in his ears. He knew who she was, but he didn't know what she wanted with him. Either way, it could not end well.

"Hello Mr Hail."

"You!" Mr Hail stammered pointing an accusing finger in her direction as his arm waved about frantically.

"Oh come now Mr Hail, is that any way to treat your ex-employee?" The figure continued to tease much to his dismay. Mr Hail's eyes continued to remain fixed on the standing figures as his left hand began to feel underneath his desk for that all important security button people had installed in their offices in case of emergencies. As he pressed down on the button he could feel it was switched off, his head looked down and his deepest fears had come to life. All of the power was switched off and there was no one coming to his rescue, not this time.

"Oh I wouldn't bother with that," the female smirked as a few odd chuckles escaped her throat "the security in this place always did stink. I guess that is why the Penguin always got away with your precious money making birds."

"What do you want with me?" Was his only reply. The figure now revealed to be Abigail Nighting suddenly cackled in some sort of psychotic laughter. All but her lips were revealed in what little light peered through the window of the room. Her scar was not visible what so ever and neither were her two henchmen. Just shadows could be seen of each person in the room, even one of Claw, who was perched obediently on his owners shoulder.

"Oh nothing much," Nightingale the stopped laughing and edged closer toward him pursing her lips "I heard you were saying rather hurtful things about me on the news this evening. So I came to get an explanation from the man himself."

"Is this what it's about?" Mr Hail then lent back in his chair casually crossing his arms "you are out to get me for speaking the truth? Does it hurt Miss Nighting? Or should I now call you the Nightingale like everyone else?"

"You putrid feeble man!" Abigail spat slamming her fist down on the table "your words do not affect me. My flesh hurt more in that fire than your lies could any day!"

"Then why come here? If you aren't offended by my public address, why go to all of the trouble to hold me hostage?"

"Because I want revenge on those who did this to me!" She exclaimed pointing one shadowy hand toward her face. But Mr Hail couldn't see the scar, nor could he see any of her face but her lips. And some twisted smiles and frowns were all that he could see from that.

"Sorry to correct you, but you have those two thugs to thank for that. I had nothing to do with your accident," Mr Hail defended then leaning forward again rather confidently passing a small glance to each of her two henchmen who still continued to point those loaded guns at him.

"Oh but you are wrong there," Abigail replied rather menacingly "yes they were the ones who started the whole ugly affair off in the first place, but **you** Mr Hail are the one who helped create me. They were just a part of the components while you were the person to start the chain reaction. I would have probably made my way in life again if it wasn't for your ludicrous actions. Sure I was taken aback because I had an eye problem and was left emotionally scarred, but I would've recovered eventually. But you Mr Hail prevented that and made me become the Nightingale. Your selfishness, greed, and lack of pity towards me caused you to make the biggest mistake in your entire life. And when I am finished with you, you will regret taking me for granted like everyone else in this damn world!"

Abigail then signalled to Falcone who stood on the left hand side of Mr Hail and he did something rather unexpected. A twisted evil smirk appeared on the Nightingale's face as her henchman punched Mr Hail causing his head to literally bounce off of his desk. After lifting his head back up to reveal a bleeding nose to his tormenters he just glared at them.

"You think this will solve your problems? That taking it out on me and the others will make you feel better? Well you're just proving me right. This is just another act of revenge."

"Revenge is a word I never used back when I was your pitiful slave, but now all of this has happened, it is the only thing that is worth doing now. You have ruined my life Mr Hail, so I shall do the same to yours."

"Well if you're planning on taking me to your little birdhouse, you are going to have to knock me unconscious, for I will not go there willingly." Mr Hail insisted boldly. Abigail simply sighed and flicked her hand upwards towards her two henchmen. They responded by grabbing each of his arms and making him stand up against his will. They dragged him away from his desk and stood him before Abigail. Sure he was slightly taller than her, but since when did that matter?

"Isn't that the idea?" Abigail smirked then taking her right leg back before swinging it forward into his stomach boldly. Mr Hail doubled over, just as Two-face did when she elbowed him in his stomach earlier, and wrapped both his arms around his stomach defensively. He finally managed to glare up at her and stand upright again rubbing his stomach in pain. Nightingale grinned triumphantly as she watched him stagger about the room. "That felt so good."

"Is that the best you've got?" He then smirked sarcastically "you're slipping Nightingale. For someone who just took on Two-face, Joker and Harley Quinn you don't seem half as intimidating as you were portrayed on TV."

"Oh the fun has just begun my foe," Abigail then revealed something from within the room and pointed it directly at him. It was revealed to be one of Penguin's umbrellas. She then held a hand over her mouth and nose as she pressed the trigger. Mr Hail was suddenly intoxicated with some sort of gas which caused him to cough and splutter for several moments before finally collapsing down on the floor in a state of unconsciousness. Falcone and Sheldrake joined Nightingale as they stood over his body watching him choke on the fumes the umbrella released.

"Whatcha do to him Nightingale?" Sheldrake asked eyes slightly widened as Mr Hail lay there before him "is he dead?"

"No, unfortunately," Abigail replied coolly "he is merely in a state of unconsciousness. One of Penguin's umbrellas did the trick to knock him out without causing a mess with any blood."

"The Boss won't be happy when he finds out you took his umbrella without his permission," Falcone added receiving a small encouraging smile from Nightingale.

"Allow me to deal with ol' Pengy Falcone," she encouraged patting his shoulder lightly "he shouldn't be too hard to handle."

"What about this guy?" Sheldrake pointed down plainly. Abigail turned her back and headed for the door, Claw let out a small squawk as he perched himself on her arm. She just signalled with her hand and finally gave her reply.

"Bring him. His torture has just begun."

Authors note: Well here we go, torture about to commence. Oh and by the way, Batman will be making a bigger appearance toward the end of the story so if you love our favourite Gotham vigilante you may like the next few final chapters. As I said before I have in mind a sequel and a few short stories to follow this one. Plus I have other ideas in mind concerning other characters I may get around to doing after this story is finished. Stay tuned, I shall update soon! Oh and in the meantime, please review. Thanks!


	18. Chapter 18: The interrogations

Chapter 18: The interrogations

Authors note: Thanks for the reviews again guys! Sorry to disappoint you, but Oswald and Abigail aren't in this chapter. But Batman makes an excellent replacement. This is how he gets the information out of people. And while he may be nice to one, you see how mad he can get with criminals. Also I posted a new story based on the Riddler, please check it out! Anyway Enjoy!

"Master Bruce, you have a visitor," came Alfred from just outside the Batcave. Batman and Robin, who were currently at their training exercises paused and turned their heads in the direction of Alfred's voice. Their undivided attentions were brought to the girl who stood right next to their butler; they immediately broke into a smile once they recognised who the visitor was.

"Hello Barb, long time no see," Robin grinned climbing down off of a robotic machine that was obviously one of Batman's various exercise equipments. Batman soon followed but wasn't as eager as his younger sidekick.

"Hey Dick, Bruce," Barbra Gordon smiled as she entered the Batcave with Alfred close by.

"What brings you here Barbra?" Batman enquired taking off his cowl to reveal his billionaire bachelor self known as Bruce Wayne.

"Well you know what happened last night?" Barbra began as they headed toward Bruce's computer. She carried some sort of disc in her hands which obviously contained data that could prove useful to the Batman.

"Don't remind us," Dick said in a rather ashamed yet embarrassed tone "that woman did worse to our car than the Joker did when he threw that exploding pie at the bumper before. She used some sort of mini bazooka. I sure need one of those."

"You were saying Barbra," Bruce passed a small scowl at Dick for interrupting.

"Well while you were trying to reconstruct your car, I made a rather surprising discovery," Barbra then sat at the batcomputer with no objections from either Bruce or Dick, or even Alfred as they watched her place the disc into the hard drive and reveal what she had found. "I had traced any link I could possibly find to attach anyone with Abigail Nighting using the police database."

"Already tried that," Bruce interrupted "I found nothing of any use."

"Well you must've missed what I have found then," Barbra continued clicking onto a file which revealed a woman who none of the people knew "this woman is called Evie Davis. She used to be a reptile zoologist for the Gotham zoo and head of the reptile department I believe, and was best friends with Abigail Nighting since their college days. And around the same time the Penguin stole the Fabergé egg and his vulture was donated to the Gotham zoo, this was the same thing that allowed Abigail Nighting to take off her career."

"Yeah so where does this lead us?" Dick asked obviously not really caring for this random lesson on who Abigail Nighting was formerly friends with.

"If you'll allow me to finish Richard Grayson I will tell you," Barbra grumbled turning back to the screen "anyway… a few years later Evie Davis left Gotham to work with crocodiles in Africa on some sort of conservation program and they somehow lost touch. And guess who recently turned up in Gotham a few days ago?"

"Right," Bruce began placing his cowl back on his head making his way to his motorcycle, the temporary transport he would have to use while his car was being repaired. "Where is she?"

"In apartment 306 in the south end apartment building east from here." Barbra replied.

"But what information could she possibly give us? I mean didn't you say they lost touch when she went to Africa, she wouldn't know of anything we don't know." Dick explained following his partner to the motorcycles.

"She might know more than we assume," Bruce replied "if we're lucky she could tell us more about why this Mr. Hail is missing or better still, the location of the Nightingale and the Penguin."

"That's if we get lucky of course," Dick muttered to himself as Bruce started his motorcycle and put on his crash helmet in a shape similar to his cowl.

"Stay here with Batgirl and Alfred Robin; I need to interrogate this woman alone."

"But-" Dick began only to be cut off by Bruce yet again.

"Do as I say. I may need you later on."

And with that Batman rode out of his Batcave hoping to finally get the information he required.

…

Around six o'clock in the evening Gotham city was nothing but chaotic, the traffic was jam packed on all of the roads and all of the businesses were beginning to shut down for the night. This made it difficult for people to make their way home if they were in a rush. But this proved no trouble for Evie Davis. After getting s few groceries from the store she headed back to her apartment expecting an easy night, not expecting some total stranger vigilante to barge in on her private life and ask her about past encounters with someone she hadn't spoken to in years.

Entering her apartment, Evie dumped her shopping bags on the ground and headed over to her reptile tanks. She kept various reptilian creatures as pets such as: Snakes, lizards, and even a tortoise. And as she was about to feed her darling pets someone crept up behind her like a shadow without a sound. Evie swiftly turned around in a shock as the hooded figure approached her. Her hands went up defensively and she looked like she were about to strike him. But he simply raised a hand in an attempt to calm her down.

"Calm yourself Miss Davis, I am merely here for information," he said with a steady tone. Evie relaxed but her eyes tensed curiously.

"Batman?" She began "my gosh you're still in Gotham? I think I've been gone too long."

"Yes you were in Africa for quite some time, were you not?"

"Wait," Evie stepped back slightly "why are you here? Have I done something wrong? How did you know of my trip to Africa?"

"I have been doing my research after a recent incident which has occurred concerning your friend Abigail Nighting. You two were college friends am I correct?" Batman questioned as she dropped her pet's food and turned away from him briefly.

"Were friends," she began "I haven't spoken to her for years. If you're referring to her little accident at the zoo and her transformation into an arch criminal, I have nothing to say about it."

"Oh I believe you do," Batman began turning on her TV showing her the latest news. Evie was about to protest but somehow she stopped herself and did as Batman expected her to do. She stood there watching the screen as it showed the latest headline. Her mouth was left rather agape as the reporter spoke.

"The head of Gotham zoo Mr. Hail was reported missing earlier today after his office was left rather trashed as his employees have stated. The middle aged man who had been the head of the zoo for around ten years has not been seen since. Unfortunately the surveillance equipment was damaged so no evidence on this abducting is available for the police to track. We can only hope the Batman has a lead on this case."

Batman then switched off the TV and turned to the young woman expecting to hear a comment from her, but no word escaped her mouth. She was obviously taken aback by this news, but she still didn't know the full reason why the Batman just showed her this report.

"Coincidence? I think not," Batman began with a rather low uncomfortable tone. He circled Evie much to her own discomfort as he began to interrogate her as it were. "What is the connection between Abigail Nighting and Mr. Hail?"

"What you think Abigail did this?" Evie exclaimed rather unexpectedly.

"Who else had the motive? The Penguin only stole his birds; they never knew each other personally."

"Actually you are onto something," Evie turned away and gazed out of the window as the sun set between the big office buildings of Gotham city "Abigail and Mr. Hail never did get along."

"Tell me all you know Miss Davis," Batman stood behind her as she began to tell him the information he required.

"Well, after you defeated the Penguin and his vulture got donated to the zoo, Abigail was with me the day it arrived. It was a rogue bird, obviously well trained by the Penguin and no one could tame it. Abigail wanted a job at Gotham zoo for a long time and figured that if she could tame it, she would be accepted into the zoo. But of course Mr. Hail was reluctant to hire her, but she proved she was the best bird trainer of all the aviary staff at the zoo. Over the years she became the head of the aviary department, but she still had to fight for her position. She and Mr. Hail never did see eye to eye and often disputed over matters that didn't even concern her. She knew that if she continued to argue over these affairs with him, he would probably end up firing her, but she continued all the same. Eventually I left the zoo to work in Africa on a conservation program and she continued at Gotham zoo. She eventually got the show she had always dreamed of, and I guess you know the rest."

"Yes," Batman replied finally "Miss Nighting had a terrible accident which scarred her facial tissue and completely blinded her right eye."

"And you think she blames Mr. Hail for this?" Evie asked.

"Along with the two men who started the commotion, yes."

"Listen Batman," Evie began turning back around to face him, her eyes glinting with a hint of sadness "from whatever you have _'researched'_ about me, I don't know about this Nightingale anymore than you do. Abigail has changed so much she isn't the same person anymore. She was once a loyal friend who cared for others, now she seems to be a selfish uncaring criminal who only has a lust for revenge. She isn't who I thought she was."

"I intend to bring her back Miss Davis," Batman encouraged placing a gloved hand on her shoulder "she will be stopped."

"It's funny," Evie chuckled obviously reminiscing "she always talked of the Penguin as if he were her hero, and now I guess she was right."

"Thank you for your time Miss Davis, you were most helpful," Batman said heading over to her open window. Before exiting he turned back around and spoke "and if you do get any information on Miss Nighting's whereabouts, please do make contact."

"I'll be sure to let you-" Evie then cut herself off when she realized he was gone "know…"

…

After exiting Evie Davis' apartment Batman used his grappling hook to swing about the buildings looking for a decent spot to land. He then flipped out his communicator and placed it near his mouth.

"Robin, I visited Evie Davis and she confirmed my suspicious, Nightingale and Mr. Hail do have a history, but no contact has been made between Davis and Nighting in years, anything on your end?"

"Actually we do," Robin began sounding rather pleased with himself "I—or should I say we, have found someone for you to interrogate."

"Go on."

"His name is Randal Snatch, he is one of the many connections the Penguin's henchman Sheldrake has in the Gotham underworld. We tracked him down via Stonegate's records. Apparently he and our friends Mathew Wright and Jack Coles shared a cell together for a few years."

"Any leads on where he is currently situated?" Batman enquired resting his knee on the ground as he spoke, his gaze wandered about the city just incase anything else occurred. You never knew with Gotham city.

"We think he's with the rest of the scum bags of Gotham, keeping a low profile. But if our information is correct, he is usually seen at the Downtown club around this time of night."

"Thanks' Robin and Batgirl, I shall go and investigate."

"Don't we get to come?" Robin asked sounding rather surprised.

"No, I need you to stay there;" Batman then slowly glared as he prepared himself to fly off of the building using his grappling hook "this could get very messy."

…

The outskirts of Gotham city were the rough areas of the city. This was where all of the dirty behind the scenes work happened among the criminals. Drug dealing was a big and common thing which took place here. Batman often fought criminals around this area, and always turned them into the authorities, after putting the fear of god into them first. Often criminals retreated here after heists or grouped together to have secret meetings in abandoned warehouses, but whenever did that stop the vigilante from taking them down? After all we are talking about the same man who took on the league of shadows, so if he could take on trained assassins, surely he could take on petty criminals without breaking a sweat.

The Downtown club wasn't the nicest of bars to go to. Brawling, drinking and gambling often took place in there and on the odd occasion the fighting gets out of hand and someone ends up dead. But tonight was just a simple night in the bar, no gambling or brawling. Just criminals drinking and having a good time. Well… they were, until their favourite vigilante showed up.

A knock on the door came from the outside and the man standing guard from the inside opened the eye catch on the door. He looked half drunk, but hey when was that an irregular thing. He managed to slur one word out not even noticing whose masked eyes he was making contact with.

"Password?" The man then awaited a reply, but what he got instead was something rather unexpected. He didn't realize until it was too late when Batman's large fist smashed the door completely through and somehow his fist took the man with it. The poor half sober man flew straight through the bar and landed about halfway on the floor. Batman's punch seemed to have knocked him unconscious and as the tall dark vigilante entered the bar; his welcome was anything but warm.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing here Bat's!" One of the men ran forward aiming his fist for Batman's face. Putting his quick reactions to good use, Batman managed to deflect the blow from the thugs hand and threw his fist forward instead knocking the mans chin throwing him flat on his face on the floor. Batman then glared around the room aimlessly secretly hoping someone else would be dumb enough to fall for what the other two idiots had just done.

"Who else wants to take me on?" Batman snarled "go on, make my night."

The bar went deadly silent. There stood Batman at the centre of the club with his fists blazing and a deadly scowl marked all over his face. The men at the bar sat there wide eyed and a few cowardly crooks scrambled away in the hopes of getting out of the club before Batman could touch them. Big mistake.

"I'm looking for Randal Snatch," Batman explained "any of you scumbags wanna tell me where he is?"

"He's over there," the barmaid pointed weakly to the other end of the bar where a very distinguished and small man sat drinking his beer keeping his eyes fixed on Batman like everyone else. Batman dropped one of the men he had just knocked unconscious after their failed attempt to leave the bar and he stormed up to the man and grabbed him by his collar.

"You're coming with me, we have something we need to discuss," Batman grumbled literally dragging the man by his collar out of the club exit. The man stumbled but didn't fight to get free; Batman wasn't a man you messed with when he held you by the collar as many criminals had found out by experience.

"Listen man I didn't do anything I swear!" Randal finally squirmed as Batman pushed him against the wall of the back alley behind the club. Batman still held him by his collar and growled aloud.

"No you listen you pathetic piece of filth," Batman snarled "I am here for information that only you can give me. Now why don't you cut the crap and tell me where the Penguin is."

"T-the Penguin?" Randal stuttered.

"Yes the damn Penguin!" Batman roared rather impatiently "do I have to spell it out for you? Oswald Cobblepot. Where is he?"

"I don't know," Randal admitted. Batman was obviously loosing his patience, well what little of his patience he had left anyway. He wasn't in the frame of mind tonight; he was tired, cranky, and still annoyed that his car was blown up by the Nightingale. All he wanted right now was to bring the Penguin, the Nightingale and their henchmen in so he could have a break. But obviously this guy liked to try his patience, and that was one huge mistake to make.

"Lie to me again, and I may just loose my temper," Batman threatened "and trust me, you don't want to see me really angry."

"Ok, ok I'll talk," Randal raised his hands defensively "I did speak to Sheldrake, one of the Penguin's henchmen a few days ago. He wanted information on the whereabouts of two guys. Matt Wright and Jack Coles. Two buddies of mine from Stonegate. He said the Penguin had a big reward for anyone with information on the location of them."

"So you ratted them out," Batman muttered "such courtesy among criminal scum like yourself."

"He told me that they were hiding out at the old abandoned factory complex in the east part of Gotham. Big place, I doubt you'll find them."

"Oh I think so," Batman smirked "anything else I should know?"

"They mentioned something about this girl called the Nightingale, say she's the Penguin's partner in crime now," Randal finally admitted. Batman released his collar knowing that he knew nothing else of the matter. He had come here for information, and he got what he came for.

"You obviously don't watch the news," Batman muttered dropping the man down on the floor and got out his grappling hook. As soon as he got a good grip on a nearby building he flew away without a second's hesitation. Randal picked himself up off of the floor and rubbed his ruffled collar in shock.

"Remind me to never get on the wrong side of him," he muttered before heading back inside the club once again.

…

"Robin, Batgirl, I want you to get your things and meet me at the Gotham police department," Batman spoke into his communicator "I have our favourite bird felons location."

"Sure thing Batman, we're on our way." Batgirl replied through the communicator.

Batman stood on top of a nearby building brooding. He knew it wouldn't be easy taking down the Penguin and his new partner the Nightingale. After all, he now had a hostage situation on his hands. Mr. Hail, Mathew Wright and Jack Coles had been abducted by them and obviously since there were no ransom demands, the bird felons were planning on doing away with them. And only Batman, Robin and Batgirl stood in the way of their plans. Now he knew the full intentions of their plans, Batman, in a way, was dreading taking them down. But the events would change things when he finally confronted the Nightingale and heard her full story face to face.

Authors note: And from this we have learned something, do not lie to the Batman. The holy awesome bat inspired vigilante! Anyway how was this chapter? We're building towards the last few chapters now. I'll miss this story *tear* but don't worry for the sequel shall be around soon with a few new characters and a new plot set in the past and future. Anyway in the meantime, please review thanks!


	19. Chapter 19: Final confrontation part 1

Chapter 19: The final confrontation part 1

Authors note: Thanks for your reviews once again! Well this is the third to last chapter of this story folks. The beginning of a two-part chapter. This one will be no where near as good as the next chapter. But I'll let you judge on that. Commissioner Gordon and Harvey Bullock are also in this chapter and will probably make an appearance in the next one also. Enjoy!

He awoke in darkness. All he remembered was his confrontation with the Nightingale and then BAM! He was unconscious. He had no idea where he was or what she wanted with him but he knew it wasn't for anything pleasant. Mr. Hail's eyes were open but he couldn't see a thing. He was tied to a chair in the centre of a pitch black room completely helpless. He hoped and prayed that the Batman or the police knew of his kidnapping and were coming after him, before the Nightingale did anything drastic anyway. Oh how he wished he was back at Gotham zoo just sorting out his paperwork leading his drawl normal life instead of being at the mercy of both the Penguin and the Nightingale. But he didn't realize at the time that he wasn't the only one present in the room.

"W-what is going on?" Another voice spoke through the darkness. Mr. Hail felt someone squirm next to him and he then realized he wasn't the only hostage. But he couldn't see who the person was, but by the sound of his voice, he was a man. "Matt?"

"What you idiot?" Another murmur came from yet another man.

"Where are we?"

"I think we've been kidnapped by the Penguin Jack," Matt replied.

"Hey, why can I feel someone else in the room?" Jack asked as his shoulder rubbed against Mr. Hail's roughly.

"Because I too have been taken hostage by the Nightingale and the Penguin," Mr. Hail finally replied trying to get the thug to stop what he was doing.

"Who the heck are you?" Matt spat rudely.

"I am Mr. Hail the head of Gotham zoo."

"Oh yeah," Matt began curiously "why does the Nightingale want you?"

"That is a good question," another voice broke the air as the door in front of them opened. The voice sounded female this time and had a slight hint of distaste about it. "But you'll all find out soon enough."

The lights suddenly switched on at the centre of the room causing all three hostages to clench their eyes shut by the sudden force of the light, and once their eyes adjusted to the light, they saw a sight which made all three of them gasp.

"Oh god," Mr. Hail's eyes widened as the Nightingale approached them. All three men were staring up at her scarred eye with their mouths agape. None of them had seen how bad the damage was before, but now they did. Her scar was still a dark crisp red colour and her once brown eye was now a hazed blur with bloodshot parts around the outside. Her scar reached the top of her nose and was like a circle shape around her eye, it looked as if it were slowly healing, but she would need more than just natural healing for it to go away fully. No, if she wanted to get rid of her horrifying scar, she would need surgery. But her sight in her right eye would never return again.

"Is that all you have to say?" The Nightingale enquired bitterly "after all you three are the cause of all this."

"Listen lady," Matt said as the woman began to circle the three men tied down on chairs. "We didn't mean for that to happen and-"

"SHUT UP!" Abigail snapped violently smacking the man across the face with her hand. Her face was full of anger and rage and Matt instantly regretted speaking. "It is thanks to you three that I now have to put up with this disability for the rest of my miserable life! All I wanted was to lead a normal life but no, you two thugs decided it would be fun to try and mug and kill an innocent woman for a bird and then publically humiliate her when she was finally getting a head start at a new life. Then Mr. Hail, my _'oh so perfect'_ boss decides to fire me because I look like a freak! Well tell me you three, are you happy now?"

All three men remained silent and kept their mouths firmly shut. They dared not speak as she was fuming at them, she was after all woman who had just taken them hostage to, obviously eliminate them. But would she succeed? For their sakes, they hoped not.

There was silence for several minutes in the room as no one dared speak. But that silence was eventually broken when one of Penguin's henchmen entered the room casually not even realizing he had disturbed a very awkward moment.

"Nightingale," Falcone began "the Boss wants you."

Abigail turned back and glared at the three hostages "I'll be back to deal with you later." And as she walked away the men couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. They were still alive! But the question was, for how much longer?

…

The batsignal illuminated the clouded sky like a lightshow from the top of the Gotham police department building. Batman was the first to respond to the call as he was already going there in the first place. He noticed several officers along with Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock were standing waiting for his arrival right next to the batsignal lamp. He didn't hesitate to make contact.

"You wanted me Commissioner?" Batman finally emerged from the shadows much to Bullock's annoyance and Gordon's relief. All of the officers behind allowed Bullock and Gordon to be the ones to speak to the Batman as the two were more experienced with dealing with the vigilante than the rest could ever be.

"We heard you made contact with some people," the Commissioner began calmly referring to his interrogations with several people "any news?"

"I have the location of both the Penguin and the Nightingale," Batman explained handing him a slip of paper with the address written on it. Gordon adjusted his glasses as he read the address to himself while the Batman continued "I am merely awaiting my partners to show up so we can pursue them. We will need your squads at the ready Gordon."

"Of course Batman," Gordon nodded causing Harvey Bullock to step in with his bad gung-ho attitude.

"Hey wait a minute," Bullock interrupted and stormed up to Batman rudely "you can't go around giving the orders vigilante!"

"Shouldn't you be at home recovering Bullock?" Batman asked calmly obviously hinting towards the week before when Two-face had taken him hostage and Batman saved his butt. Bullock was never one to be grateful and always showed his sour side around Batman. This was why neither of them got along over the years.

"Hey, I'm a cop," Bullock snapped defensively "if I'm not getting kidnapped or shot at I'm not doing my job right. And I don't need a baby sitter bat to come and rescue me every time some Rogue goes all crazy. Got it?"

"Bullock!" Gordon exclaimed glaring at his associate to shut him up. He then turned his attentions back onto Batman and spoke again "sure Batman, we'll bring as many squads as you require. By the sounds of this Nightingale, we'll need a SWAT team to get her; she sounds even more dangerous than the Penguin judging by what she did to your car, not to mention taking on three of Gotham's deadliest Rogues. If you would call them that."

"Blowing up his batmobile was just a lucky shot," Bullock claimed rather smugly "I bet face to face she's just another coward like the Penguin."

"I wouldn't underestimate her or the Penguin Bullock," Batman insisted turning away "they may prove to be worse than we could ever imagine. We aren't just dealing with a bunch of mindless criminals here. Over the years the Penguin has gotten the hang of our encounters and if he knows we're coming for him, he may just set a trap."

"So what? You can take him down;" Bullock shrugged "he's just a fat bird who took on a new sidekick, how bad could she be?"

"What we need to focus on is freeing the hostages," Gordon explained changing the subject swiftly turning his attentions back to Batman "then we'll need you and your sidekicks to take the Penguin, the Nightingale and their henchmen down."

"Did someone say sidekicks?" Came another voice from above. Everyone's attentions were raised to where the voice came from and there stood Batgirl and Robin who had just made a dramatic appearance. Batman turned his head back to the Commissioner and nodded swiftly before making his way over to Batgirl and Robin.

"Give us ten minutes, and then send your squads out," Batman explained as he and his team departed off the top of the police building and flew off into the night.

Gordon took a deep breath and muttered to himself as he glanced down at the address on the slip of paper Batman had left him "and so it begins…"

…

"This is terrible!" The Penguin shouted "TERRIBLE!"

"Oh come on Boss," Sheldrake insisted as he followed his employer as he stormed about the building angrily. "It wasn't his fault."

"You just told me your so called underworld connection just spilled his guts out to the Batman, and you're defending him?!"

"Yes-no, I don't know!" Sheldrake waved his arms about like a banshee as he struggled for an appropriate answer.

"Now that means that Batman will be right on our doorstep along with Gotham PD and everyone else," Oswald put his head in his hands and breathed a deep dramatic sigh. "You can't trust anyone these days."

Sheldrake decided to leave the Penguin to it and walked off to join Eagleton and Sheldrake outside the room where they were currently keeping their hostages. The room was practically like a warehouse storage unit, the biggest part of the building. And it was usually locked up tight, but the three had managed to get it open. Now they were keeping their hostages there until they disposed of them.

Oswald was infuriated. He had just found out that one of his henchman's trusted ally's had just dropped them in it and revealed their location to Batman. It was pointless running out of it now, knowing Batman, he was probably already on his way. No, the Penguin would have to think. He and the Nightingale would have to fight him if they ever wished on succeeding in their plan. But even though the Penguin had failed in the past, this time he now had his partner. The Nightingale and the Penguin were both now armed and dangerous criminals, both partners and lovers in crime that would fight for each other. Oswald already admitted he would give up his life if it meant his darling Abigail was unharmed. And no matter what it took, he would not let Batman put her in the bird cage (so to speak) like he did with him in the past. Even if it meant he had to kill. Yes, this could be the day the Batman finally fell. But at the same time, it probably would not. But Oswald was going to wait and see. At least he had home court advantage.

Abigail approached Oswald silently as he stood back facing her with his hands clenched in fists. Abigail snuck behind him and grabbed his large waist and hugged him. Oswald responded to this by uncurling his fists and bringing his arms backward to place them around her. Abigail smiled contentedly as he spun around forward finally facing her.

"Falcone said you wished to see me," Abigail explained "is something wrong."

"I'm afraid so," Oswald looked away with a frown on his face. Her presence had calmed him down, but he was still unhappy about the news Sheldrake had revealed to him. Abigail placed her hand on his chin and brought his face back to her. He stared into her eyes and looked rather regrettably toward her.

"What's wrong Oswald?" Abigail asked rather sincerely.

"Sheldrake's contact was questioned by the Batman," Oswald replied "he revealed our location and I fear Batman will come after us."

"So let him come," Abigail said coolly smiling rather determinedly. Oswald opened his mouth to protest but was cut off by her finger as it pressed his lips "Oswald, I knew of the risks when I decided to join you. If the Batman comes, we'll fight him off together. After we've disposed of the scumbags first of all."

"I will admit, I wasn't impressed when you defied me and kidnapped Mr. Hail, but I can understand why you did it. He fired you when you felt venerable and lost everything and you wanted revenge. I felt the same way after Sammy Douglas humiliated me throughout my childhood and then grew up to be the person I never became." Oswald explained.

"Well I guess tonight we'll finally get what we want," Abigail then placed one hand on his cheek and the other on his shoulder "and nothing can stop us now. Not even the Batman."

"Abigail," Oswald began rather sincerely placing his hands on her waist and back caressing her softly "no matter what happens tonight, just remember this. I love you, and that will never change."

"I love you too Oswald," Abigail smiled "but I need to do this so I can at least move on with my life."

"I understand," Oswald then looked down. Abigail lifted his head again and smiled adoringly as she inched closer to his face.

"Come here you adorable bird man," and with that their lips met. Both stood in the centre of the hallway for a few minutes kissing each other gently but passionately before departing off back to their business. The Penguin would prepare his henchmen for an attack whilst the Nightingale dealt with her captives. This time she brought Claw along with her, and by now she had trained him to do more than just fly through hoops.

…

Mr. Hail, Matt and Jack sat tied up with rope in the centre of the big warehouse like room talking amongst themselves. The Nightingale had left the light on after she departed from the room so now if they turned their heads they could see one another. Mr. Hail was rather disgusted to be stuck with the two petty criminals. But even though he was tied up, Matt still kept a cool head. It was just a shame his partner didn't share his enthusiasm.

"That Nightingale's nuts man!" Jack exclaimed rather anxiously "I told you we shouldn't have messed with her."

"It's no surprise;" Mr. Hail muttered "considering you two are the ones who made her like that."

"Hey guy," Matt spat bitterly "you didn't help by firing her from her job."

"I wouldn't have fired her if it wasn't for you brutes destroying my show arena with that fire," Mr Hail glared putting Matt in his place.

"We're dead," Jack shook his head mournfully.

Things suddenly went deathly silent as a loud bang echoed throughout the room. The three men's heads jerked about the room frantically searching for what had made that noise but nothing revealed itself. It wasn't until a swift shove of the door revealed the Nightingale yet again. There she stood with her bird of prey perched on her shoulder with a small smirk plastered on her face. As she entered the room all three men froze as their fearful eyes gazed back up at her. And when she spoke, a hair stood on the back of their necks.

"Say gentlemen," Abigail began calmly "you guys tried to mug me for my bird Claw right?"

There was no reply even though Matt and Jack knew the answer. Abigail then allowed Claw to climb down her arm and perch himself on her arm as he prepared himself for her commands.

"Well now you will witness what he can do," Nightingale then turned her head to her bird and gave out her command. And as she pointed her right arm toward the three hostages with a glare now forming on her features, she muttered two words. "Claw, kill…"

The buzzard took off and swooped in the direction of the three men tied down on chairs in a small circle. He squawked in some sort of aggression as he began to attack the three helpless men. Clawing and scratching and even on the occasion biting the men Claw did as his mother bird commanded. The Nightingale stood back and simply observed as her bird caused pain on the same people who had done her wrong. And somehow, she was finding this moment both amusing and in some ways delightful. She was finally inflicting pain on those who had caused her pain. She was finally dishing out what she had received. After several minutes of watching as her bird created minor flesh wounds on her victims she finally called him away and he instantly perched himself back on her shoulder.

"So, how does it feel?" Nightingale asked as she circled the three men who were gasping in pain from the various gashes that were now oozing with blood which were caused by the bird of prey's sharp talons. "To feel the pain I suffered. You know, I suffered at the fate of fire, I think you should share my pain."

Abigail then revealed a lighter to the three men whose eyes widened in terror she flicked it to reveal a flame and then making it vanish again. She did this to taunt them, and by the looks on their faces, it was working.

"You're a complete psycho!" Mr. Hail screeched "you're just like the Joker!"

"Oh but I am aware of my actions Mr. Hail," Abigail replied "If I was criminally insane I would have slaughtered you all in a much crueller way. But instead you can just die burning."

"Can't we talk this over?" Matt asked rather weakly receiving a laugh from the Nightingale.

"Oh I'm afraid it's too late for that," she spoke menacingly "a little too late for that."

She then flicked the lighter on and went to drop it over the three men. The men begged for her to stop but she didn't listen to their cries. They didn't listen to her so why should she listen to them? This was her act of revenge, her moment to finally burn her tormentors once and for all. But someone else had another thing in mind.

Rather suddenly and unexpectedly something crashed through the top window and flew down toward the men and hit the lighter off course before it made contact with anything to set alight. The lighter span around before turning itself off as it made contact with the floor. The Nightingale's eyes widened in surprised and the unexpected object embedded itself into a nearby wall as it stopped. She recognised the shape that the small metal object was meant to represent and she suddenly lost all of her nerve right there and then.

"It cannot be," she murmured aloud as she picked out the bat shaped piece of metal from the wall. Her gaze arose up to the window that had been smashed as this batterang flew through it but she couldn't see anyone. Her thoughts were no longer lingering on getting revenge, and rather unexpectedly she ran out of the room in a mad panic much to her captives surprise and confusion.

…

"And we have contact," Robin smirked as he gazed through his binoculars. He had just thrown a batterang through the window of the old abandoned warehouse to alert the Penguin and the Nightingale of their presence; also he had managed to stop the Nightingale from killing her hostages which of course was the whole point of this mission.

"I wouldn't celebrate just yet Robin," Batgirl urged "It hasn't even begun yet."

"Yeah but did you see the way she ran out of that room? I haven't seen anyone depart that quickly since the Mad Hatter figured I had his precious hat." Robin chuckled at the very thought. Everyone knew how much the Mad Hatter cherished his beloved hats, and when the boy wonder took it from him, he obviously wasn't happy.

"Where is Batman?" Batgirl changed the subject.

"Oh he's looking around the premises, he'll be back shortly."

"I sure hope so," Batgirl muttered "I feel that we are going to have some fight on our hands when the Penguin knows we're here."

…

The Nightingale literally sprinted down the corridor in a panic searching for the Penguin. She hadn't even considered that Batman would come now of all times. He had just ruined her moment, but he always did that. Somehow he always arrived just as the criminals were about to kill or injure someone. She searched each room for Oswald but couldn't find him anywhere. She hoped she wasn't too late and he was already fighting the Batman without any warning. But she was thankful he wasn't when she finally found him. He was standing in the kitchen area along with Sheldrake, Eagleton and Falcone, and as soon as she ran up to them they knew something was awry.

"What's wrong Nightingale?" Eagleton inquired as his eyebrows arched curiously.

"He's here," Abigail panted due to lack of breath thanks to all of that running.

"Who?"

"The Batman…"

Authors note: Ooooh the drama! I also added a mushy scene with Oswald and Abigail because I haven't for the past few chapters. Anyway the next chapter will be full of a lot more action and finally the Nightingale's confrontation with the Batman. Will it end in disaster? Or will she surrender? Stay tuned for the next two final chapters. Please review also. Thanks!


	20. Chapter 20: Final confrontation part 2

Chapter 20: The final confrontation part 2

Authors note: Thank you all for the reviews. Sorry for not updating sooner. I've had a rather crummy couple of weeks. My dog recently died and my family has been rather shaken by her death, so I haven't updated for a while. Anyway here is the chapter at last. Enjoy!

_The Nightingale literally sprinted down the corridor in a panic searching for the Penguin. She hadn't even considered that Batman would come now of all times. He had just ruined her moment, but he always did that. Somehow he always arrived just as the criminals were about to kill or injure someone. She searched each room for Oswald but couldn't find him anywhere. She hoped she wasn't too late and he was already fighting the Batman without any warning. But she was thankful he wasn't when she finally found him. He was standing in the kitchen area along with Sheldrake, Eagleton and Falcone, and as soon as she ran up to them they knew something was awry. _

"_What's wrong Nightingale?" Eagleton inquired as his eyebrows arched curiously. _

"_He's here," Abigail panted due to lack of breath thanks to all of that running. _

"_Who?" _

"_The Batman…"_

…

Everything went deadly silent after Abigail revealed the apparent intruder. She recovered from all of the rushing about but her heart was racing as she knew she would have to fight the Batman. At long last she would finally confront the dark knight face to face.

"What do we do Boss?" Falcone asked in a rather panicky tone. Usually he was the henchman who remained cool and calm when the Batman was there to foil their plans, but ever since that incident when Batman, who was blind at the time, beat him, he became a lot less determined. Eagleton and Sheldrake guessed Batman had made him loose his cool because of his embarrassing flaw.

"Search the grounds," Oswald ordered "find him before he makes a mess of things."

"What do we do when we find him Boss?" A rather dumfounded Sheldrake enquired much to Oswald's displeasure. The Penguin simply shook his head and rolled his eyes unimpressed at his henchman's lack of intelligence as he replied.

"What do I have to do, draw you a picture?" The Penguin snapped agitatedly "obviously if there is a bat in our belfry we exterminate it."

"Do what now?" Oswald grumbled at his henchmen's lack of incompetence and clenched his fists obviously getting really impatient. And boy did his face show it.

"Eliminate. Destroy. Annihilate. Murder. Kill. Got it?!"

"Gosh Boss when you put it like that, you make me sound dumb," Sheldrake said stepping back from his fiery employer rather hurt.

"Sorry to interrupt this lovely banter gents," Abigail stepped in pulling out her gun from her belt and loading it with a clip as she spoke "but we do have a bat to dispose of."

…

"Batgirl, Robin, come in." Batman finally announced on his communicator as he was crouched outside a rather small building opposite the one the Penguin and his team were in. He sat there fiddling with some wires and a pair of pliers from his utility belt as he made contact with his sidekicks to keep them up to speed with goings on.

"Batman we're in position," Batgirl replied down the line "we made contact with the Nightingale and prevented her from killing her hostages."

"Good," Batman said picking his pliers to cut through a particular wire, the yellow and black one that was connected to the main power circuit "now you two go down there and free them, but beware… things might go dark."

"Right Batman, good luck with finding the Penguin and the Nightingale, over and out."

Batman finally cut the wire and his attentions went directly to the building opposite. He smiled triumphantly as the lights flickered and finally dimmed to the point of pitch blackness. It was also exceedingly dark out now so that didn't help at all. But it provided him with the perfect opportunity. Everyone knew how much Batman liked the dark.

…

The Nightingale and the Penguin left their henchmen to stand guard near the hostages just in case Batman or anyone else was preparing to try and free them. Both held their weapons close as they made their way down separate corridors. The Penguin held his umbrella gun close as he crept along the hallways cautiously. At every sound he snapped his immediate attention on that sound. No way was Batman going to catch him by surprise, not this time. But the Batman had other things in mind…

Abigail jumped when the lights went out. She stood in complete utter darkness with a gun in her right hand and her bird perched on her shoulder. Claw squawked a few times obviously sensing there was something wrong and Abigail could sense it too. For some reason she felt as if she were not alone. Someone was watching her, ready to strike at any moment. And as she kept her wits about her making sure no one was going to jump out on her, she made her way towards the back doors so she could stand her ground from a secure location, outside.

Oswald on the other hand froze when the lights dimmed out, he then circled the area around him with his fully loaded umbrella pointed as he turned; he knew what Batman was like. He had many encounters to learn from his mistakes and know how the bat thought. And as soon as he was going to strike, the Penguin would be ready for him. He waddled about in the dark hoping to hell that Abigail was alright, this was her first proper encounter with the Batman and his sidekicks and he was secretly hoping she wouldn't get too trigger happy. Despite the fact he wanted Batman dead, he still wanted to keep that one pleasure to be for himself.

Oswald headed for the nearest exit and once he exited the building he glanced around the premises. An odd smell was lingering in the air and the distant sound of sirens could be heard very faintly. The Penguin knew that soon they would get company, but not before he personally dealt with the Batman and his young vigilante partners. Then he would handle the cops.

The swiftly out of nowhere the Penguin was kicked right across the abandoned building complex as out of the shadows swung the Batman. He literally dropkicked Oswald as he fell on the hard rough concrete. Oswald, after getting aware of the situation occurring before him, finally managed to stand up and make a defensive stance as the caped vigilante stormed his way toward him. The Penguin held up his umbrella and pointed it in the direction of the vigilante as he began to back away angrily.

"Batman," Oswald grumbled dragging his large feet off of the floor "long time no see."

"I knew you and the Nightingale were trouble," Batman began as he strode up to the bird felon with a rather nasty scowl on his face. The Penguin's scowl tried to rival it, but Batman was winning, by far. "And now I am taking you two in before someone get's hurt."

"Oh I think you're a little too late for that Batman," Oswald then began to circle Batman still clinging tightly to his umbrella acting as if it were some kind of stress relieving device "as I recall someone did get hurt, two times in fact! And both times you were not there to prevent it from ever happening. Do you know what that was?"

"Penguin…" Batman said but was cut off by a fuming Oswald. He knew what this entailed. Oswald was blaming him for not being there for Abigail when she needed him, and this made Batman feel some sort of guilt, he could've stopped it, but he wasn't there when both incidents happened.

"SHUT UP!" Penguin spat pointing his umbrella gun up at the sky and shot a single bullet out of anger. "She was the only woman I ever truly loved and she respected me for who I was; now she has been driven to become what I wanted to leave behind… a criminal."

"Listen Penguin," Batman stated calmly "I cannot begin to imagine what you are going through; she obviously means a lot to you. But revenge isn't the answer."

"Then what is Batman?" Oswald asked "the courts would just let them run free and the police department wouldn't keep them locked up. Trust me I know how easy it is to escape from Stonegate because I have done it myself countless times."

"I-I could've helped you…" Batman lifted his hands up comfortingly as his voice went soft.

"Well it's too late for that," Oswald glanced briefly yet sadly at the floor before that deathly looking scowl re-appeared "Two weeks too late!" He then pointed his umbrella gun back at Batman and began to fire. Luckily Batman ducked for cover before any bullet could hit him. The Penguin continued to fire his bullets out of his umbrella gun purely out of rage before finally Batman threw a batterang in his direction which hit his hand and made him drop the umbrella weapon. Batman then decided to make his move there and then by jumping the Penguin before he could pick up his weapon. After a minor struggle Oswald managed to pick up his umbrella up again and ran off to recover before he made his next move. He hid behind a few abandoned crates and sat down for a brief moment. Taking in a breath of air he wondered if Abigail was going through the same predicament with Batgirl and Robin as he was with Batman. And he sure hoped she was winning. Because he had a bad feeling, he knew that the worst was yet to come.

…

Abigail had made her way back to the storage area where she was keeping her hostages; she still held her fully loaded gun in the air as she made her way to check on Sheldrake, Eagleton and Falcone. Cautiously standing outside the door she listened closely to make sure she could hear something, but all she heard was nothing. Not a sound could be heard from within the room. Perhaps everything was fine and her hostages had stayed put, but they weren't gagged so she should at least hear them talking right? This made her heart rate increase rapidly and finally she decided to swiftly swing the door open to reveal either what she had hoped, or what she had feared. And unfortunately for her it wasn't her night.

Abigail's eyes widened as she saw three people tied down to chairs with their mouths gagged in the centre of the large room, but they were not her hostages. Actually, they were… her henchmen! After observing the area she quickly entered the room and un-gagged Falcone so he could tell her what had happened.

"Nightingale, you shouldn't be here!" Falcone coughed rather rapidly.

"Cut the nonsense Falcone, what the devil happened here?" Abigail pressed on wanting a quick and simple answer and not the jumbled up gobbledygook she usually got from the three. She hadn't the time or the patience at this point in time for any incompetence.

"Batgirl and Robin came out of nowhere and freed the hostages and we… well they moved too quick you see, and we couldn't take them on," Falcone said rather embarrassingly not exactly thrilled to tell his second in command that he was beaten by two teenage sidekicks.

"Crap…" Abigail muttered to herself aloud. Her attentions were then dragged away from the three tied down henchmen and darted in multiple directions as another voice broke through the air like a creepy horror movie.

"So you'd better start running," came a chuckle from what sounded like Robin. The Nightingale instantly raised her gun and began shooting bullets in various places in the room. She then backed away slowly toward the door and completely forgot (or didn't think it mattered) about her henchmen. She then did in fact run. She hoped to get outside before Batgirl and Robin got on her tail. She now figured at this point that Batman had in fact gone after Oswald. So she would have to handle with two of his sidekicks? Great…

…

"Why did you do it Cobblepot?" Batman asked as he searched the area for the hiding criminal. He wasn't concerned at this moment about kicking his butt or handing him into the police, who were on their way. No, he just wanted to talk to him and figure out why the Penguin gave up his almost normal life to become a criminal once again. "Why did you give up everything?"

"Wouldn't you do that for someone you loved?" Oswald replied from behind the crates he was hiding. It made it difficult for Batman to locate the bird felon because of the echoes coming from various points in the air, this didn't help at all. "Don't tell me that the glorious Batman never felt like getting revenge on someone."

Batman stopped where he stood and thought for a moment. Actually Oswald Cobblepot was correct, his entire life revolved around getting revenge. His parents died at the hands of a criminal with a gun and he devoted his life to avenging their deaths by hunting down criminals and bringing them to justice. The Penguin wasn't just being a normal criminal; he was devoting his life to bring happiness the one person he truly cared about. Batman actually felt pity for the two felons. If it wasn't for what had happened at the zoo, perhaps life would've turned out differently for the pair.

"But I don't expect you to understand," Oswald continued as Batman continued to brood about his own past "but seeing the person you cared about getting hurt is the worst thing that could ever happen to you. Abigail's world crumbled that day and a part of me died that day. Revenge was the only answer."

"Actually Penguin," Batman looked up "I do understand, but I cannot let you get away with what you have done. Killing is never the answer and even though it was for the one you love, I have to bring you in. Now you can come quietly or make my job just that bit more difficult."

"Then it will have to be difficult then!" The Penguin suddenly appeared from behind a stack of crates and began to fire, yet again, in Batman's direction. Batman managed to do several back flips and find cover before any bullet even touched him. He fired a batterang toward the Penguin but missed and aimed it at the crate nearby, it the began to beep and Oswald (judging by past experiences) knew instantly the batterang was going to explode so he ran. As soon as the batterang let off a mini explosion the Penguin was blasted forward but somehow remained on his feet. He then passed a quick glance at Batman before scrambling away to safety. He knew he would have to get to a better place if he ever stood a chance at defeating the Batman.

Batman soon followed and finally gained on the Penguin and as Oswald was about to strike him with his knife umbrella, Batman grabbed a nearby metal pole that lay discarded on the crates. Both began to fence as if it were an epic sword fight in a movie and with every swerve Oswald grew more and more frustrated. He just wanted to be rid of Batman as soon as possible but with every miss this only intensified his anger and impatience.

It wasn't until a loud bang came out of nowhere that both stopped fighting and froze. Within this moment Batman took an opportunity, while Oswald's attentions were raised onto something else he used his free hand to do something that was necessary at the time… he punched him. The full force of the blow across the chin caused Oswald to fly backwards onto his back; the poor man was now unconscious and lay on the floor still clutching his umbrella. Batman glanced down at the birdlike felon and began to ponder on several thoughts. That was until something raised his attentions. His head turned sideways when he heard yet another loud bang. His eyes widened as he recognised the sound. It sounded like… a gunshot.

…

The Nightingale sprinted towards the door and headed outside as fast as her little legs could carry her. She was scared, even though she wouldn't admit it. She had never fought Batman and his sidekicks before and this would be her first time. The other villains were probably like this when they took on the Batman for the first time right? Well Abigail liked to think that anyway.

As she hid behind some crates she checked her gun and kept it near at all times. Claw was circling the area and searching for any intruders just as Abigail told him to. After several moments of waiting in anticipation and suspense something finally happened, something which took Abigail by surprise. A batterang literally flew centimetres away from her face and hit the wooden crate on her right hand side. Abigail pulled her gun near her face cautiously and slowly got up; she followed the direction from where the batterang had come from and then opened fire. Her gun let out a few blasts which revealed her intruders as they scrambled away for cover. Both Batgirl and Robin flew from a nearby building down to the ground and dive-bombed into the crates. Abigail then held her fire as she approached the pair carefully. She then whispered something to her bird of prey and watched as he flew around the crates and began to attack the two young vigilantes.

Eventually allowing Robin to be the bird bate as it were, Batgirl raced forward and went to hit Abigail with another batterang. Luckily for the Nightingale, Batgirl's aim was no where near as precise as Batman's and she managed to miss it before it hit her. Batgirl lunged her fist forward only for Abigail to dodge it and throw one back, Batgirl flew backward after being hit in the jaw with Abigail's tiny fist. After a few moments of recovering Batgirl went to hit her again, but it was rather late. The Nightingale grabbed her gun and aimed it at Batgirl, a few loud bangs let off but every bullet seemed to miss the flexible gymnastic female vigilante. Hiding behind some crates again Batgirl waited for the trigger happy woman to stop shooting so she could get a clear shot. But after all of this time of waiting, Robin re-appeared, battered and scraped and bleeding to buggery after his encounter with the Nightingale's bird of prey.

"You having fun?" Batgirl smirked jokingly as Robin gave her a funny glance. Neither noticed Nightingale pointing her gun again and both were forced to duck down rather unexpectedly to avoid getting shot.

"Yeah, haven't had this much fun since Two-face kidnapped Harvey Bullock," Robin chirped "you?"

"Despite getting shot at, yeah I'm having a blast!" Batgirl replied then flipping out yet another batterang from her utility belt.

"Why don't you just give up Nightingale? Make your humiliation less humiliating," Robin called out to the bird woman who had stopped shooting for a short while to re-load her gun with another clip.

"You must be joking," came the reply from across the area "to think I'll give up to a bunch of caped hormonal teenagers. In your dreams."

"Your funeral then," Robin then threw a batterang at the crate across the area just hitting the centre of the wooden boxes.

"Nice aim," Batgirl spat sarcastically.

"Wait for it…" Robin held up his hand and a small bleeping sound came from where the batterang had hit. Batgirl instantly knew what that meant. He hadn't fired just a regular batterang, more like the ones that go BOOM.

Abigail also heard the bleeping sound as its pace quickened and it became more frequent. After several moments of thinking she suddenly realized what it was, and when she found out… well she ran for her life.

Robin and Batgirl watched as the Nightingale scrambled away seconds before the batterang let off a rather large explosion. She had managed to escape and ran over to the wall of one of the old buildings. Pointing her gun just above where Batgirl and Robin were situated. Being precise with her aim she let off one clear shot, and suddenly the stacks of old wood and bricks above their heads caved in on them. Both were subdued by the force of the impact and both fell into a state of unconsciousness. The Nightingale, after getting over the sudden explosion and her near death experience, cautiously walked over to where the two lay and surveyed the damage. Finally, after realizing the two weren't dead just merely unconscious, she ran off. Soon the sound of metal clanking could be heard soon followed by piercing sirens.

This was now the final showdown between the Batman and the Nightingale. And now the police were about to show up. This could not end well…

Abigail limped her way to the other end of the abandoned complex. Her fight with Robin and Batgirl had resulted in a few minor injuries including a twisted ankle and a cut hand from where a batterang had it her. The sirens were now at a piercing screech through her ears and she knew that they had come to arrest her and Oswald. She knew, deep down anyway, it was over, but somehow her conscience told her to keep on fighting. As she surveyed the area and continued to limp around looking for her dear Oswald or Batman something unexpected swooped in from the skies carrying someone she never thought she'd see in the state he was currently in.

Abigail gasped in horror as she saw Batman swoop in from a nearby building with an unconscious Oswald hanging by his jacket from one of his sturdy hands of the Batman. She tried to run over to him but her ankle prevented her from running. Abigail's eyes were wide like an owl but soon turned into a low scowl as her gaze transferred from Oswald to the Batman.

"What have you done to him?" The Nightingale asked voice rather low yet surprised at the same time.

"I didn't want it to end like this," Batman breathed dropping the Penguin down on the floor and walked slowly to Abigail but kept his distance.

"Don't lie!" Abigail then flipped out her gun from her belt and pointed it at the cape and cowled vigilante. Batman took a few steps back and kept his gaze fixed on the female bird felon at all times. "You wanted this to happen!"

Meanwhile at the same time all of the police squad vehicles arrived at the scene and as the officers got out of their cars Commissioner Gordon and Detective Bullock both stepped out of their vehicle, Bullock pointed his gun threateningly toward the Nightingale whose attentions were brought from Batman to the police. Gordon on the other hand did not hold a gun, just a microphone. His gaze was rather direct yet concerned for the Batman. He did not yet know if Abigail Nighting was a criminal who would intentionally kill someone without a reason.

"Nightingale," Gordon began loudly through the speakerphone "drop your weapon and place your hands where we can see them and I can assure you no one will get hurt."

"Stay out of this Gordon!" Nightingale spat then turning her attentions back to Batman who stood plainly before her pursing his lips awkwardly with his hands outstretched.

Bullock clicked his gun loudly with that certain glare in his eyes. Gordon noticed his fiery attitude and knew that if he didn't say something Harvey, would probably do something he deeply regretted. Gordon placed a hand on Bullock's loaded weapon and looked deeply into his drawn eyes and shook his head in disapproval.

"Stand down Bullock," Gordon commanded calmly "let Batman handle this."

"No way am I letting that bird lady menace kill anybody," Bullock motioned toward the Nightingale "even if she points her gun at the costumed bat freak."

"I repeat," Gordon said "let Batman handle her."

Bullock, reluctantly, did as he was told and held his gun back. All of the officers watched and waited as the Nightingale was pointing her gun at the Batman. Her hands were shaking violently and she was obviously hyperventilating under the stress. Batman still remained where he stood and occasionally shifted his feet. He raised his hands reassuringly toward Abigail but she did not respond. He then began to speak to her to try and change her mind.

"Miss Nighting," Batman began only to be cut off by a very anxious Nightingale.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" She shrieked "I go by the name Nightingale now. Abigail Nighting no longer exists."

"Ok… Nightingale," Batman took a step forward only to shift back as she moved her gun again "it doesn't have to end this way…"

"Why does everyone tell me that?" Abigail exclaimed shaking her head frantically "they think they know what is best for me when they don't. No one knows me! Only Oswald knew what it was like to be me. And now you've done this to him! Why should I let you live?"

"He's only unconscious," Batman assured "you both forced me to do this. And no I may not know you, but I know enough. I know enough to know you were broken, scarred, manipulated and betrayed. You acted out of rage, as you are doing now. But tell me; is it really what you want?"

"I don't know anymore," Abigail whimpered as tears began to form in her good eye and her bad one. "All I wanted was to be happy; and Oswald was the key to my happiness. But then two guys come and ruin my life and crush my happiness forever. And I could've gotten revenge, if it wasn't for you sticking you cowl into this affair. An affair that doesn't concern you!"

"Killing is wrong…"

"Don't tell me about the morals of life Batman," Abigail snarled through her tears "I respected them when I was just your average citizen. But my morals no linger exist. All I wanted was to be with the man I loved. Was that too much to ask for?"

"No…" Batman whispered then taking yet another step forward "not at all…"

"He was the only man I ever loved," Abigail cried looking down at the unconscious Oswald on the ground, his face so sweet and innocent. "He was like no man I had ever seen before. Caring, compassionate, kind. Everything I ever wanted in a partner. And yet society mocks him and makes a laughing stock out of him. And you wonder why he became a criminal? Well the same happened to me. All it took was one rotten day to turn my life upside down and transform a zoo performer into another member of the Gotham Rogue's gallery. But no one will care. No one has sympathy for the likes of us. All I wanted was to avenge my former self and be rid of the nightmares that those three men caused me! But now… now I don't know what to do anymore."

Batman watched as Abigail dropped her weapon and collapsed onto the floor and wept over Oswald's unconscious body. She buried her head into his stomach and wailed loudly as she wrapped her tiny arms around him. Batman clenched his eyes shut and breathed in deeply, rather sorrowfully actually. He then placed a comforting hand on Abigail's shoulder and muttered something to her before walking away.

"You know," Batman whispered loudly "I had a bad day… once."

Batman then raised his head and nodded to the Commissioner and the rest of the officers who had witnessed the entire scene before them. Batman then walked over towards Mr. Hail, Matt and Jack who were being tended or arrested (in Matt and Jack's case) by fellow officers. Mr. Hail instantly rushed over to Batman and grinned much to Batman's displeasure.

"Thank you Batman, I owe you my life once again against the evil clutches of the Penguin," Batman then sneered at the man and shook his head.

"Don't flatter yourself," Batman snapped rather rudely before beginning to walk away "I know what you did."

Mr. Hail stood there flabbergasted by what Batman had just said. He knew he was right. He did do something terrible, something which had created the Nightingale. And even though he didn't intend for it to happen, it did and he had to live with the consequences of his actions.

So it finally ended. The Nightingale and the Penguin were finally defeated by the Batman and were about to be tried for the crimes that had committed. But in all truth, they were more to be pitied than blamed. Their story was a sad one. And even though they didn't realize it, Batman did understand their pain. He himself knew what it was like to loose something dear to him. And now the Penguin wasn't as comical as people made him out to be. Actually he was a poor unfortunate man who had fallen under bad circumstances. All under the act of revenge.

Yes this was truly the end of this battle… but the rein of the Nightingale and the Penguin had only just begun…

Authors note: Ok there will be one final chapter after this. Just an epilogue with a song which reminds me of their relationship. Then it is onto the sequel! Yay! And just to warn you, the sequel is rather different to this story. Anyway please review! Thanks!


	21. Chapter 21: Epilogue

Chapter 21: Epilogue

Authors note: Well last chapter. This story has definitely been fun! I have revealed a small part of the sequel down below at the other authors note, but if anyone wants to know more I would be glad to tell you, or you could wait for the story to be posted. Anyway as for this chapter I have used a song I like by Lana Del Ray called 'Born to die'. It isn't about dying (just to add) more to do about a relationship that goes wrong (a bit like Abigail and Oswald's relationship which is why I used it) I would suggest typing it in on YouTube and listening to it throughout this chapter, but if you don't that is fine. Enjoy!

Weeks after the capture of the Penguin and the Nightingale, finally came the trial. Both were dreading the days ahead as they were dragged into the courtroom to hear lectures on the crimes they had committed. Both of course had pleaded guilty to everything and knew that if they did this, at least once they were doing something right. Abigail and Oswald kept close to each other; it was the only thing worth holding onto now. Love was the only hope for the unfortunate pair.

Of course all of the criminals at Stonegate penitentiary were having a blast. They all had heard of the Nightingale's brave escapade resulting in the destroying Batman's car and she had gained a lot of credit for that one run in with the famous vigilante. But Abigail felt no pride in her at all. As she was escorted down the long prison corridor by two male guards she kept her face and her gaze directly onto the ground as those around her cheered and applauded her. A few weeks ago she would've been proud of what she had done, but now… now she was feeling a huge wave of regret and sadness wash over her. Not because of her defeat, but because she no longer knew what she wanted. The only thing she knew she wanted right now was love, and she had that! But what else could a Nightingale possibly want?

Of course the doctors at Arkham asylum came to Stonegate to assess Abigail just in case she proved to be criminally insane. But surprisingly she wasn't as crazy as the media made her out to be. Actually she was just fine, despite what she had been through. After all of the traumas she had been through, the doctors and psychiatrists expected her to be just about as insane as Two-face who, under the circumstances, had been through a similar trauma to the Nightingale. But actually her anger and hatred had suppressed into depression and denial after her final confrontation with Batman and the police. It was her talk with Batman that did it; he finally revealed to her that revenge wasn't the answer. But if that wasn't, what was? Abigail also insisted she stayed at Stonegate because Oswald was there, and she did not want to be parted from him. Of course she was still assessed from time to time by psychiatrists but now she was at a sound mind again, she seemed just as mentally stable as Oswald.

Sitting in her cell awaiting her trial, Abigail sat gazing out of her cell window. Oswald was kept in a different cell to her for obvious reasons but it didn't stop her thinking of him. She knew she would be found guilty of what she had done, and she also knew that even though she wasn't clinically insane, she felt like it. But during this time alone in solitude Abigail got down to thinking and reflecting over the past couple of weeks. She smiled at the thought of her first encounter with Oswald Cobblepot and scowled at the thought of her incident at the zoo and what happened after that horrific affair. She knew she had lost so much and gained so little back. But her relationship with Oswald was now enough to make her happy. And with all of this reminiscing Abigail actually sang a song which reflected her relationship with Oswald. Of course they had had their ups and downs, but so did any couple. Just as long as they had each other, that would be enough…

_Feet don't fail me now  
Take me to the finish line  
All my heart, it breaks every step that I take  
But I'm hoping that the gates,  
They'll tell me that you're mine  
Walking through the city streets  
Is it by mistake or design?_

_I feel so alone on a Friday night  
Can you make it feel like home, if I tell you you're mine  
It's like I told you honey_

She first considered the first time she and Oswald met. Back then she was so venerable, so helpless, so… different. Different to what she was now. But Oswald still loved her all the same. Was their meeting a coincidence? Or just by sheer fate? Either way it caused a change of events which made her fall in love with him and eventually make her become his criminal partner also. She couldn't believe all of this only happened only a month ago. So much had happened and changed within that time, it was uncanny. She had fell in love, lost her job, her sight in one eye, her credibility and reputation and lastly, became one of Gotham's leading female Rogue's. Of course she wasn't psychotic because she still had that sympathy she had when she was just Abigail Nighting. And even though she went a bit over the top with her new identity the Nightingale after vowing revenge on those who did her wrong, she still deep down had that kind warm nature she had before she became a criminal. Especially toward the man she loved.

_Don't make me sad, don't make me cry  
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough  
I don't know why  
Keep making me laugh,  
Let's go get high  
The road is long, we carry on  
Try to have fun in the meantime_

She knew their relationship was impacted after the incident at the zoo. It didn't change their feelings but rather their actions. Both cared deeply for one another and both vowed swift revenge on the criminals and permanently blinded and scarred poor Abigail. While the Penguin and the Nightingale showed no mercy to anyone who stood in their way, they still showed their feelings for one another. Their devotion for one another was shown everywhere. Obviously they were prepared to risk everything for one thing… love.

_Come and take a walk on the wild side  
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain  
You like your girls insane  
Choose your last words  
This is the last time  
Cause you and I, we were born to die_

Abigail stroked Claw as she lay on her cell bed. She was permitted to have him in her cell as a comfort, plus the guards already tried and failed to separate the bird of prey from his mother, and it obviously didn't end well. Abigail was glad she had a ruthless and nasty buzzard for a companion, and the only ones who could tame him were Oswald and Abigail. But in all truth the only comfort Abigail really wanted was to be with Oswald. But of course the prisons had rules and a female and male couldn't share a cell, so that meant Abigail wouldn't see Oswald until the trial later on. She wondered how he was feeling about all of this. In a way she felt guilty, if it wasn't for her he would still probably be reformed. She was turning out to be another Veronica Vreeland, except this time she wasn't using him for some sick scheme. But he was put in prison because of that cold hearted woman once, and now it was happening again for Abigail. But she didn't ask for his help, he insisted to help her get her revenge. And he loved her, so obviously he was standing up for the one person he cared about. But it still made her feel guilty that he gave up his chance of freedom to do what she wanted.

_Lost but now I am found  
I can see but once I was blind  
I was so confused as a little child  
Tried to take what I could get  
Scared that I couldn't find  
All the answers, honey_

Abigail Nighting was always an unusual girl. Even when she was a child she loved to watch birds, and now she was one of two bird felons in the city. She never dreamed of becoming a criminal, in her mind it was all morally wrong. But like she told Batman, after her breakdown she had no morals. The Nightingale used to be a simple zoo performer just trying to make a living, but now… now the Nightingale was actually a wanted criminal who was now respected or feared by the public and other criminals. She had obviously put a scare on people after what she had done to Batman's batmobile. Also after her Also after her and Oswald's capture, they were on the news for weeks.

_Don't make me sad, don't make me cry  
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough  
I don't know why  
Keep making me laugh,  
Let's go get high  
The road is long, we carry on  
Try to have fun in the meantime_

Finally distracting her from her thoughts the guards came into her cell and glared down at Abigail. She swiftly stood up and placed her arms in front of her as one of the guards chained her wrists together with handcuffs. Abigail gazed was fixed directly ahead of her as she was escorted by both men out of her cell and through the hallway to the main courtroom on the other side of the penitentiary. Her dry lips occasionally parted as she took in a few deep breaths. The entire journey was silent, and in some ways she preferred it that way. She didn't need the guards' opinions or encouragement about her trial. She hadn't entered the room and she already knew what the verdict was… guilty.

The doors opened and a gush of light made Abigail's left eye twitch, her blinded right eye remained open as her good left eye took in the light. She stopped for a brief second before the guards continued to take her to the prisoner dock, where someone else was also standing inside. Abigail's dry lips formed a small yet loving smile as her eyes met with Oswald's. The guards rudely pushed her inside the dock and shut the small door before standing outside it. Abigail walked over to the front of the dock where Oswald was standing and didn't take her eyes off of him for a second. Both wore the same blue prison outfits with their names and prisoner numbers on the front, but both looked completely different to what they did when they were criminals. Oswald did not have a monocle or anything else that made him look posh and sophisticated. Actually his eyes looked rather drawn and he looked anything but gentlemanlike, but not in Abigail's eyes. In Abigail's eyes, he was still the same kind affectionate man she fell in love with.

As the court came into session and all of the jury and the lawyers stood when the judge came into the room. Abigail and Oswald turned their attentions away from each other and onto the court but still occasionally glanced in each others direction and made eye contact once or twice. Abigail then leant in and whispered something into Oswald's ear, no one really noticed this because they were busy watching the evidence being displayed. Abigail continued to whisper her song as the court continued on, and Oswald listened rather contentedly oblivious to what was going on in the courtroom.

_Come and take a walk on the wild side  
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain  
You like your girls insane  
Choose your last words  
This is the last time  
Cause You and I  
We were born to die  
We were born to die_

The judge allowed the evidence from both sides to be presented. Oswald and Abigail shared one lawyer, a young man who represented the pair. Both knew he wouldn't win, neither did they care. Of course in the witness stand stood Mr. Hail and Matt and Jack. Matt and Jack were also prisoners at Stonegate but were held in a different part of the penitentiary, probably because the guards feared that either Oswald or Abigail would lash out at the pair if they ever got the chance. Mr. Hail still wore his business like stubborn expression but in some ways looked different. Abigail had noticed this every time she glared over in his direction. He somehow wore a weakened gaze; his expressions looked rather dazed from time to time, especially when he was asked to give evidence. He hardly mentioned his own opinion of the whole ugly affair unless either the prosecuting or defending lawyer asked him to. He had obviously lost his nerve after he tried to thank Batman and got it right back in his own face.

_Come and take a walk on the wild side  
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain  
You like your girls insane_

Don't make me sad, don't make me cry  
Sometimes love is not enough and the road gets tough  
I don't know why  
Keep making me laugh,  
Let's go get high  
The road is long, we carry on  
Try to have fun in the meantime

Abigail shut her eyes and braced herself as the jury went outside the courtroom to make their verdict. She knew it wouldn't end well but still, she was never one for suspense. Oswald also felt the penny drop as it were, for the final decision would be made whether the two birds would fly free or be in a cage for the rest of their miserable lives. He frowned and shifted his gaze over toward Abigail who still clenched her eyes shut in shame. Oswald, through his handcuffs, somehow managed to grab her tiny hand and hold it in his own birdlike one. Abigail opened her eyes and turned her head in his direction briefly glancing down at their joined hands. She smiled and nodded as did he in return. They knew that this was the end, but it was barely the beginning of what was yet to come. Somehow even though they had lost everything, they still managed to gain something in return… love.

_Come and take a walk on the wild side  
Let me kiss you hard in the pouring rain  
You like your girls insane  
Choose your last words  
This is the last time  
Cause You and I  
We were born to die  
_

When the jury came back inside both Abigail and Oswald took a deep breath, they clenched their hands together tightly and kept their gaze fixed on the main juror who stood up. He cleared his throat and then finally revealed their verdict. He mouthed one word which meant the end for the Penguin and the Nightingale… guilty. Abigail's eyes shut tightly and her head bowed low as the judge read them their sentence and what they would have to do to get good behaviour. Oswald knew all of this from his previous trials, but Abigail didn't. This was after all the first time she had ever entered a courtroom. Finally the guards came back into the dock and took both Abigail and Oswald away. But before they were separated and taken back to their separate cells Abigail whispered the final line of her song into Oswald's ear.

_We were born to die…_

Oh this was surely the end of this criminal façade, but over the next twenty years things would change for the better and for the worst. Let's just say, the Penguin and the Nightingale will be remembered for many years to come.

The end.

Authors note: Well that's it folks *grabs tissue box and sniffles* it's been fun. Also the last line of the story was hinted toward the sequel which I shall reveal to you now… basically it is set twenty years into the future and a lot has changed, but what if Oswald Cobblepot found he had a long lost daughter living in Gotham city? The same one he and Abigail were forced to give up at birth due to them being wanted criminals. And what past events could be brought back into the light to reveal things at the present? Anyway that is the story idea but I will not give anything else away until I post it. Please tell me what you think of this idea in the reviews and I promise to post the new story shortly. Thank you all!


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